Pratt Institute School of Architecture, Undergraduate Architecture

Arch 206 History of Architecture I

Course Syllabus

and Alessandra Ponte

Fall 2004

THE RULES

1. Attend all lectures and your assigned sections

2. Sign in and do not be late 3. Do not wander in and out of the room 4. Take notes and turn in copies 5. Do your weekly reading summary

assignments and turn them in (This is a summary. See inside for complete list on p 7 and 8.)

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Pratt Institute School of Architecture Undergraduate Architecture Program

ARCH 206 History of Architecture I Fall 2004

____________ section number ________________________________________________________________________________ last name first name (preferred first name) _____________________________________ ______________________________ email telephone number ________________________________________________________________________________ address ________________________________________________________________________________ previous art and architecture history courses at Pratt ________________________________________________________________________________ previous college experience if any

________________________________________________________________________________

place of birth ________________________________________________________________________________ is English a second language for you? what languages besides English do you speak? ________________________________________________________________________________ countries in which you have lived ________________________________________________________________________________ particular interests in architecture ________________________________________________________________________________ particular interests outside of architecture

PLEASE ATTACH A PHOTO OF YOURSELF

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Pratt Institute School of Architecture Undergraduate Architecture Program Course Syllabus

Arch 206 History of Architecture I Fall 2004

Credits: 3 Type of Course: Required, Lecture with Sections Prerequisites: ARCH 104, From and Culture Enrollment Capacity: 25 per section Instructors: John Lobell (212-679-1935, Jlobell@pratt.edu

Alessandra Ponte (aponte@earthlink.net)

Time & Location: Lecture, all sections W 9-11 AM, Room 111 HHS (move to Rm 115 mid Oct) Sect. .01 Lobell W 11-12 PM, 310 HHS Sect. .02 Ponte W 11-12 PM, 203 HHN Sect. .03 Lobell W 12-1 PM, 310 HHS Sect. .04 Ponte W 12-1 PM, 203 HHN Course Overview: This course is the first of a required three-semester sequence that examines the history of Western and Non-Western architecture from its earliest beginnings to today. This semester deals with the history and development of art, architecture and the built environment from so-called pre-history through the 13th century. It begins with the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, moves on to the ancient high civilizations, and ends with the Gothic period. Emphasis throughout is on key architectural monuments considered in a broad cultural context. Learning Objectives: The study of architectural history is an important component of the professional architecture curriculum at Pratt. Architectural history is a humanistic and critical discipline based on visual observation, liberal research, and written analysis. As such, it complements the practical and conceptual projects of the design studio by surveying and analyzing historical precedents for design, investigating their meaning, and evaluating their usefulness as formal or programmatic models. Throughout history, architecture has vividly reflected the cultures in which it evolved and the social, economic, and geophysical conditions which shaped it. This relationship continues today. Indeed, many issues with which architects are currently concerned can be considered outgrowths of previous historical developments. Thus, studying the architecture of the past gives students a focused historical lens through which to consider contemporary architectural problems. By familiarizing students with the body of world architecture and by illustrating the broad scope and uses of architectural history, this course (and the two which follow it in sequence), also provides an invaluable guide to elective studies.

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Requirements and rules 1. Attend all lectures and sections

• You will lose one letter grade for more than two absences 2. Sign the sign-in sheet, and be on time and be attentive

• Sign-ins after 9:05 count as late, and the sheets come down at 9:20, at which time you must attend class, but it will count as an absence. Three lates count as an absence (so you can have 5 lates before it affects your grade)

• Be attentive during lecture, do not talk, do not wander in and out of class (if you need to go to the rest room, just quietly go)

• Attend the section to which you are assigned • Attendance will be taken in sections with the same rules as for the lectures.

3. Take notes in lecture and in section • Submit a xerox copy of your notes from the previous week’s lecture and

section at the beginning of each section. Notes submitted late lose 1/2 credit. 4. Do the assigned reading in Stockstad before class each week

• Write a one-page Reading Summary of the reading and submit it at the beginning of section each week. Reading summaries submitted late lose 1/2 credit. See Reading Summary Assignments for details.

5. Put this outline, your notes, assignments, and exams in a notebook. • We will check notebooks at the end of the semester.

6. Read this entire course outline. Do the museum sketch. Take the midterm and final. Don’t cheat. To summarize, you can’t master the material if you are not in class and you don’t do the work.

Not filling following these requirements and rules will result in a decrease in your grade.

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Basis for grade • Final Exam 40% • Midterm 28% • Reading Summaries 20% • Class notes 10% • Museum sketch 2% Grades will be lowered for absences, lateness, failure to turn in papers on text and class notes, and failure to participate in class. As a rough rule of thumb, you can assume that: (there is no A+) A = 96—100 A- = 90—95 B+ = 87—89 B = 84—86 B- = 80—83 C+ = 77—79 C = 74—76 C- = 70—73 D+ = 68—69 D = 65—67 (there is no D-) F = below 65

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Semester Schedule: Week Date Lecture Subject & Assignments 1 9/1 Paleolithic & Neolithic (JL) Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 1 (see Textbook below) 2 9/8 African (JL) Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 13 and 25 3 9/15 Egyptian (JL) Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 3

Met Egyptian Temple Drawing Due 4 9/22 Mesopotamian & Aegean (AP) Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 2 & 4 5 9/29 Greek I (AP) Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 5 6 10/6 Greek II (AP) Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 5 7 10/13 MID-TERM in lecture. No sections. 8 10/20 Etruscan and Roman I (AP) Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 6 9 10/27 Roman II (AP) Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 6 10 11/3 Early Christian, Byzantine, Romanesque (JL) Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 7, 14, and 15 11 11/10 Islamic (BP) Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 8 and pages 832-33 12 11/17 Gothic (JL) Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 16 13 11/24 Museum Visit 14 12/1 Review (JL) Notebooks checked in section 12/8 No Class, Jury Week 15 12/15 FINAL EXAM in lecture. No sections.

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Reading Summary Assignments You have weekly reading assignments from Stockstad, Art History, that roughly parallel the lectures, and you are to write a brief paper each week on the reading. In each case: - briefly outline the reading, - fully identify (name of the building, name of the architect if known, culture, location, and date) key buildings referred to in the reading - briefly answer the questions listed below

• The papers should be brief, about one page. • They count for 20% of your grade. • They are due at the beginning of section each week. • Late papers lose half credit.

At the upper left of each of your papers should be the following; Your Name ARCH 206 Section X Date (due date) Title (Example: Egyptian, Stockstad, Ch 3 2 9/8 (due date) Paleolithic & Neolithic

Stockstad, Ch 1 • What are the major cultural periods into which “Pre-history” is divided, and what are their

approximate dates? • What are the key characteristics of Paleolithic culture and technology? • What are the key characteristics of Neolithic culture and technology? • What characterizes Paleolithic architecture? • What is the significance of the predominance of animals in Paleolithic art? • What characterizes Neolithic architecture, and what are some key examples? 2 9/8 African

Stockstad, Ch 13 and Ch 25 • How is ancient Africa similar to and different from ancient Europe? • What are the major civilizations of ancient Africa, and in what time periods did they flourish? • Describe the key African spiritual beliefs that animate modern African art.

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3 9/15 Egyptian

Stockstad, Ch 3 • What are the key periods in ancient Egyptian history and what are their dates? • What are the key geographical features of Egypt and how did they influence Egyptian culture

and history? • What is the role of the pyramid in Egyptian culture? • What are the key characteristics of the Egyptian temple of the Late Kingdom? • List and fully identify (name of building, architect if known, location, date) three key

buildings from this period. 4 9/22 Mesopotamian & Aegean

Stockstad, Chapter 2 & 4 • What are the key features of the Minoan and the Mycenaean civilizations? • What are the key features of the palace of Knossos? • What characterizes a Mycenaean megaron? • List and fully identify three key buildings from this period. 5 9/29 Greek I

Stokstad, Chapter 5 Focus on: 153-157, 161-170, 185-197

• What was the political structure of ancient Greece? • What was the Greek notion of Humanism, and how is it manifested in Greek sculpture and

the Greek temple? 6 10/6 Greek II

Stokstad, (same as last week) • Sketch a plan and portico elevation of a Greek temple and label the key parts • List and fully identify three key buildings from this period. 8 10/20 Etruscan and Roman I

Stockstad, 224-245 • Describe the early history of Rome. • What distinguishes roman construction? • How is the Roman temple (Maison Carreé) different from the Greek temple (Parthenon)? • List and fully identify three key buildings from this period. 9 10/27 Roman II

Stockstad, 246-287

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• What characterizes the architecture of the Roman Empire, and what has its influence been on 19th and 20th Century architecture?

• Give a brief description of the Pantheon. • List and fully identify three key buildings from this period. 10 11/3 Early Christian, Byzantine, Romanesque

Stockstad, Ch 7, 14 Focus on: 297-307, 310-314, 486-487, 515-529, 537-542, 549-553

• Describe the key architectural characteristics of: o Early Christian architecture o Byzantine architecture o Romanesque architecture

• List and fully identify three key buildings from this period. 11 11/10 Islamic

Stockstad, Ch 8 Focus on: 344-360, 824-25, 832-33

• What are the key characteristics of Islamic architecture and how do these features relate to the climate in many Islamic regions, and to Islamic culture and religion?

• What is your personal reaction to the Taj Mahal? • List and fully identify three key buildings from this period. 12 11/17 Gothic

Stockstad, Ch 16 Focus on: 555-579, 584-587

• Why did the Gothic cathedrals appear when they did? • What are the key characteristics of a Gothic cathedral? • List and fully identify three key buildings from this period. Additional Assignment: Temple Drawing Due September 15 Do a drawing of the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art The Temple of Dendur, ca. 15 B.C.E.; Roman period Egyptian; Nubia, Dendur, Sandstone; L. from gate to rear of temple 82 ft. (24 m 60 cm) Given to the United States by Egypt in 1965, awarded to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1967, and installed in The Sackler Wing in 1978. Location: The Metropolitan Museum is located in Manhattan on Fifth Avenue with the entrance at about 83rd Street. The Temple of Dendur is located in the northern most wing of the museum. Look at the Egyptian collection while you are there.

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Size: The drawing must be on 8 1/2” x 11” paper. No tracing paper. No ragged edges. Technique: Use a freehand technique in a medium of your choice (pencil, ink, marker, etc.). The drawing should be in perspective from the viewpoint you are situated while making the drawing. (Do NOT copy a post card. Make your drawing at the museum.) Title block: On the front of your drawing, put the name of the building, your name, the course number and your section, and the date. Organize your title block to work with the overall composition of your drawing. Course Materials Required Textbook: Marilyn Stokstad, Art History, Second Edition (Phaidon,) in the Pratt Bookstore. Diana Hacker, Rules for Writers, Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000 (Fourth Edition) This is the Pratt-wide handbook for writing style Lecture Outlines Included in this syllabus are outlines for each week’s lecture topic. Students are expected to read the outline before attending each lecture and are advised to use the outline during the lecture as a guide to note-taking. Lecture outlines include a general introduction to the period, a list of architectural characteristics, a list of important buildings and artifacts, specialized terminology relevant to the period, and a brief bibliography for further reading and research in the period. In some cases, illustrations are also included with the lecture outline, but only when those buildings or artifacts are asterisked (*) and not represented in the textbook. Please note that all items marked with asterisks (*) under Important Buildings & Artifacts will be emphasized in exams. Students are required to master a complete identification for each asterisked work. History Notebook You are required to keep a history notebook with material from ARCH 206, and later from ARCH 207 and ARCH 308. Get a three ring notebook and by the end of the semester place in it the material listed below. You must bring the notebook to the last section on December 1. Include: • This course outline • Your notes from the lectures and sections • Your Egyptian Temple drawing • Your Reading Summary assignments (give us a copy each week, keep a copy for

yourself) • Your midterm (put it in a three hole plastic document folder) • Your final (when you get it back) You will need this material when studying for the licensing exams.

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Supplementary References You may wish to purchase the following reference books (available in paperback) which will be of use in this course and throughout their architectural education. • John Fleming, Hugh Honour, Nikolous Pevsner, The Penguin Dictionary of

Architecture, 4th edition (London: Penguin Books Ltd, 1991). • Cyril M. Harris, ed., Dictionary of Architecture and Construction (New York: Mc-

Graw-Hill, 1975). [Note: this book was revised and expanded in 1993, but the older, cheaper edition is still generally available.]

Throughout the semester students may wish to consult the following pictorial references books, all of which have useful illustrations. All are available in the Pratt library or the New York Public Library. • Trewin Copplestone, ed., World Architecture: An Illustrated History (New York:

McGraw-Hill, 1953). • Banister Fletcher, A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method (1896; many

reprints and expanded editions available). • Henry A. Millon, Key Monuments of the History of Architecture (Englewood Cliffs, NJ:

Prentice-Hall, 1964). • John Julius Norwich, ed., The World Atlas of Architecture (Boston: G.K. Hall, 1984). For further reading: While each lecture outline includes a suggested bibliography for the given period, the following series are recommended as well. Various titles in these series cover most periods from pre-history to the present day. Series titles and publishers are listed below. • Great Ages of World Architecture (New York: George Braziller). • History of World Architecture (New York: Rizzoli). • Pelican History of Art (New Haven: Yale University Press). • World of Art (London: Thames and Hudson).

Course Format Weekly meetings of this course consist of 2-hour lectures, attended by all enrolled students, followed by 1-hour sections in which the class breaks into small groups. The lectures are formal slide-illustrated surveys of a given period which introduce students to the general historical and cultural context and to key architectural monuments and art works of the period. In general, the goal of each lecture is to demonstrate the period’s breadth and to acquaint students with important concepts and ideas as expressed in the period’s art and architecture. Lectures are intended to stimulate debate about each period, but students are asked to hold any questions which arise for discussion in their individual sections. Sections are informal classroom seminars between the instructor and a small group of students. The goal of each section is to examine the material presented in the lecture in

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greater detail, be it a discussion of cultural concepts, an in-depth analysis of a particular building or artifact, or the relevance of this period and its monuments to contemporary architectural practice. Sections provide students with the opportunity to ask questions and to clarify ideas and concepts regarding material presented in lecture or in the textbook. Sections will also include discussions of course assignments, note-taking and study methods, reviews for exams, and other related topics. Course Attendance Students are required to attend ALL lectures and sections in a timely fashion. Attendance will affect your final grade and can also affect financial aid (instructors are required by federal guidelines to submit student attendance to the institution). Attendance sheets will be posted each week prior to the lecture. Students must sign-in on these sheets before each lecture in order to be counted as present. Five minutes after the start of each lecture, attendance sheets will be replaced with LATE sign-in sheets. 20 minutes after the start of each lecture LATE sheets will be removed and students will be marked absent for that lecture. Students who forget to sign-in may not sign-in retroactively. Three or more unexcused absences may cause your final grade to drop by a full letter (e.g. from “B” to “C”). Two late attendances are the equivalent of one absence. Absences will be excused only when accompanied by a letter from a doctor or other authority attesting to the nature of the emergency that prevented attendance.

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NOTE ON CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM: Students are reminded that cheating and plagiarism are not permitted, and can lead to serious consequences. Pratt Institute holds issues of academic integrity in the highest regard. So do we. Instances of cheating, plagiarism, and misappropriation of intellectual property will not be tolerated and will be handled in the following manner: • We are required to report the incident to the registrar, and it will be recorded in your

file. • More than one report to the registrar during your entire time at Pratt will result in a

hearing before the Academic Integrity Board, at which time appropriate sanctions will be decided. These may include dismissal from the Institute.

• We will determine the nature and severity of the infraction and apply appropriate sanctions that can range from asking you to repeat the assignment, failing you for the assignment, failing you for the course and/or referring the case to the Academic Integrity Board.

For more details about these procedures please see the Student Handbook, the Pratt Bulletins, and the Judicial Procedures at Pratt pamphlet. CHEATING If you are using dishonest methods to fulfill course requirements, you are cheating. Examples of this include, but are not limited to: • Obtaining or offering copies of exams or information about the content of exams in

advance. • Bringing notes in any form to a closed book exam. • Looking at another student’s paper during an exam. • Receiving or communicating any information from or to another student during an

exam. PLAGIARISM Plagiarism is a bit more complicated, but the rules of documentation and citation are very specific and are tailored to different academic disciplines. Types of plagiarism include: • Including any material from any source other than yourself in a paper without proper

attribution. This includes material from the Internet, books, papers from other students, and from any other source.

• The extensive use of the ideas of others in your paper, even if in your own words, without proper attribution.

• Turning in work as your own that was done by another person. Please remember that all written work must be in your own words or cited and documented appropriately. If you do not understand how to do this properly, it is your responsibility to ask.

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WEEK 1 Paleolithic and Neolithic Art & Architecture

The Paleolithic Period (c. 35,000-8,000 BCE) The beginnings of art, astronomy, and notational iconography in the Cro-Magnon artifacts and cave paintings of Europe (Laussel, Lascaux). Motifs of the bull and other horned animals, pregnant animals, the lunar cycle, the venerated female, sexual symbols, and the shaman. The beginnings of architecture in the earliest shelters built by our hominid ancestors (Olduvai Gorge, Terra Amata). The architecture of contemporary hunter-gatherers as the minimal adaptation to the environment and as the origin of archetypal forms. Contemporary hunter-gatherers include Australian aborigines, Kung San (Bushmen) and Pygmies in Africa, Eskimos in North America, and rain forest dwellers such as the Indians in South America’s Amazon Forest. Most of these cultures are fragile islands severely threatened by the aggressive industrialized cultures surrounding them. Paleolithic cultures are characterized by nomadic hunting and gathering in cooperative, egalitarian bands. They avoid material wealth and permanent architecture, preferring to live in relative “oneness” with nature. They usually enjoy a highly developed spiritual life focusing on animism, shamanism, and early forms of Goddess-worship. Four MISCONCEPTIONS about hunter-gatherers: 1. They live(d) on the edge of survival. Actually, researchers estimate that on average hunter-gatherers spend 4 hours per day getting food. They spend the rest of the time talking, telling stories, playing with children, eating, making art, dancing, and going into ecstatic trances. 2. They are(were) savages and have no culture. Most hunter-gatherers are gentle, polite, generous, and non-competitive. They have cultures rich in mythic, artistic, and oral traditions, and they have detailed knowledge of nature, animals, and healing arts. Many also display certain kinds of extrasensory perception. 3. The male hunter was the key player in evolution and survival. In temperate and tropical climates, the staple food supply consisted largely of food gathered by women; the meat won by men was eaten mainly on ceremonial occasions. The mother/child bond is recognized as having been at least as important to human social evolution as the male hunting bond, if not more so. 4. “Cavemen” dominated women. Because of their ability to bear children and provide the bulk of the diet, women were and are highly respected among Paleolithic peoples. The earliest families were probably matrilineal (tracing descent and inheritance through the mother’s line instead of the father’s), and there is much evidence that prehistoric religions centered on female rather than male deities.

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Architectural Characteristics of the Paleolithic Period • Impermanence; use of readily available natural materials (thatch, ice, hides), which

deteriorate back into the earth, leaving no traces • Undifferentiated building types: dwelling usually serves also as workshop, shrine, grave, etc. • Territories and tribal boundaries defined by myths and rituals not laws or property deeds • Perception of nature and the landscape as a conscious, living being (animism) • Little use of abstract geometry, axis, symmetry, etc. • No cities or towns; seasonal camps for several bands may exist • Depending on geographical location and climate, typical structures include thatch hut,

windbreak, tent, igloo, natural cave, etc. Important Buildings & Artifacts of the Paleolithic Period Olduvai Gorge Windbreak, Tanzania, Africa. c. 2,000,000 BCE (Lect.) * Terra Amata house with hearth, Nice, France. c. 400,000 BCE (Lect.) * “Venus” of Laussel, France. 30,000-25,000 BCE (Lect.) “Venus” of Willendorf, Austria. 22,000-21,000 BCE (1-4) “Venus” of Lespugue, France. 20,000-18,000 BCE. (Lect.) * Cave Paintings in Rotunda (Hall of Bulls), Lascaux, France. 15,000-13,000 BCE (1-10) -Plan of Lascaux Caves (1-9) -Bird-Headed Man with Bison & Rhinoceros (1-11) Mbuti Pygmy Village, Ituri Forest, Congo. 20th century. (Lect.) Australian Aboriginal Art. 20th century. (Lect.)

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The Neolithic Period (c. 10,000-3,500 BCE) The effect of the agricultural revolution: permanence, new building types (granaries, passage mounds, homesteads, temples, etc.), the first towns and villages (Jericho, Chatal Huyuk); enigmatic construction of megalithic structures (Newgrange, Maltese Temples, Stonehenge’s early phases). Neolithic cultural characteristics: settled villages and towns with egalitarian social structures (little evidence of class stratification in housing or burials); widespread trading activity; worship of the Great Goddess, prevalence of female imagery in art and architecture; veneration of the cow or bull; development of agriculture, animal domestication, pottery, textiles, stone and mud-brick architecture, astronomy, geomancy. Neolithic cultures flourished for thousands of years with virtually no warfare. The Hopi and other Pueblo Indians in the American Southwest are contemporary cultures with many Neolithic traits, and their Anasazi ancestors are an indigenous American Neolithic culture. Architectural Characteristics of the Neolithic Period • Small farming villages with permanent dwellings: pithouses, beehive houses, longhouses, and

pueblo-type structures are common • Use of mud brick in arid climates and wood in temperate climates (Neolithic cultures are not

found in the Arctic or in tropical rain forest zones that cannot support agriculture) • Beginning of differentiation of building types: houses, granaries, shrines or temples, graves

or tholoi, marketplaces, etc. • Megalithic construction using huge rough-hewn stones for specialized non-residential

structures such as passage mounds (collective burial), temples, astronomical observatories and ritual centers; also, elaborate earthworks were often built; not all Neolithic cultures built megalithic structures

Important Buildings & Artifacts of the Neolithic Period Jericho, Israel. Occupied c. 9000-1200 BCE (Lect.) * Chatal Huyuk, Neolithic town in Anatolia (Turkey). 6500-5500 BCE (2-4) * Maltese Temples, Malta. c. 3000-2500 BCE (Lect.) * Newgrange Passage Mound, Boyne Valley, Ireland. 3000-2500 BCE (1-17 & Lect.) * Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, England. 2750-1500 BCE (1-19, 1-20) Great Serpent Mound, Ohio, USA. 1000 BCE - 400 CE (12-20) Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde, Colorado, USA. 1100-1300 CE (Lect.) Chaco Canyon (Pueblo Bonito, Casa Rinconada kiva), New Mexico, 900-1250 CE (12-1, Lect.) Taos Pueblos, New Mexico, USA. Recent (23-19) Terminology (Paleolithic & Neolithic Periods) Archeoastronomy Corbelling Geomancy Dolmen

Megalith Neolithic Paleolithic Passage grave/mound

Post and lintel construction

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Bibliography Brennan, Martin. The Stars and the Stones. London: Thames & Hudson, 1983. Burl, Aubrey. Rings of Stone. London: Tichnor & Fields, 1979. Chippindale, Christopher. Stonehenge Complete. London: Thames & Hudson, 1994. Eliade, Mircea. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. New York: Pantheon, 1964. Evans, J.D. Prehistoric Antiquities of the Maltese Islands. London: University of London, 1971. Fagan, Brian M. Men of the Earth. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1974. Fraser, Douglas. Village Planning in the Primitive World. New York: George Braziller, 1968. Giedion, Sigfried. The Eternal Present. New York: Bollingen/Pantheon, 1964. Gimbutas, Marija. Goddesses & Gods of Old Europe. Berkeley: University of California, 1982. Gimbutas, Marija. The Language of the Goddess. New York: Harper & Row, 1989. Guidoni, Enrico. Primitive Architecture. New York: Electa/Rizzoli, 1987. Hawkes, Jacquetta. Atlas of Ancient Archeology. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1974. Hawkes, Jacquetta. Atlas of Early Man. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1976. Jelínek, Jan. The Pictorial Encyclopedia of The Evolution of Man. Hamlyn, [1972]. Krupp, E.C. Echoes of the Ancient Skies. New York: Harper & Row, 1983. Marshack, Alexander. The Roots of Civilization. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1972. Mellaart, James. The Neolithic of the Near East. London: Thames & Hudson, 1975. O’Kelly, Michael. Newgrange: Archeology, Art & Legend. London: Thames & Hudson, 1982. Piggott, Stuart. The Dawn of Civilization. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1961. Renfrew, Colin. Before Civilization. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1973. Ruspoli, Mario. The Cave of Lascaux: The Final Photographs. New York: Abrams, 1987. Scully, Vincent. Pueblo: Mountain, Village, Dance. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1989. Wenke, Robert J. Patterns in Prehistory. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.

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Supplemental Illustrations of Required (*) Works, Paleolithic Period

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Supplemental Illustrations of Required (*) Works, Neolithic Period

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Supplemental Illustrations of Required (*) Works, Neolithic Period

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WEEK 2 African Art & Architecture The Dogon Geographical and historical setting: About 250,000 Dogon people, mostly farmers, live today in some 700 villages along the arid cliffs of the 125 mile long Bandiagara Escarpment in Mali, West Africa. The cliff-dwelling predecessors of the Dogon were the Tellem, who lived in the Bandiagara cliffs from the 11th to 15th centuries. Their architecture resembles that of the Anasazi in U.S. Southwest and their caves are sacred burial grounds for the Dogon. The Tellem were probably a Great Round culture overthrown by the Dogon. Today, the Dogon are known world-wide for their art and rituals, but as a people, the Dogon choose to live in this isolated environment to keep their traditions intact. Many of these traditions focus on the veneration of ancestors, of which there are three types: the nommo, the binu, and the vageu. The nommo was the first living being created by Amma, the supreme creator god, who lived before the first death. Eventually, the nommo became 4 pairs of primordial male/female twin ancestors. These 8 nommo are water spirits with no joints. Lebe was one of the original 8 nommo ancestors, and the first who died. Lebe was resurrected as a living serpent and represents the nyama, the life force, that renews the earth in the agricultural cycle. The binu (binu jay=gone and come back) are the immortal ancestors, descendents of the nommo. The binu are a source of power and protection for their descendents and their altars are housed in binu shrines. The vageu are family members who have died and become venerated ancestors. Their altars are housed in the ginna (see below). In addition to their respect for ancestors, the Dogon have a special reverence for twins and left-handed people. In every Dogon region there are supreme religious and political leaders known as the Hogon. The hogon are also the priests of Lebe. Every year, at the beginning of planting season, the hogon are involved in the bulu, a ritual dedicated to the nommo ancestor Lebe. Other rituals inlude the dama and the sigi. The dama are post-funeral ceremonies occurring every several years and dealing with the deaths of individuals. Certain Dogon dead are accorded special rituals: the Yaupilu (white women), the souls of women who died in pregnancy or childbirth, are considered highly dangerous and are attended by a special priest/healer and enshrined in a cave sanctuary away from the village. One of the most Dogon important rituals is the sigi, a ceremony that takes place every 60 years to commemorate the first death (death of Lebe) and re-create the imina na, the great mask made to contain the nyama released by Lebe’s death. The imina na is also known as the mother of masks and is fabricated in the shape of a serpent, the form Lebe took upon resurrection. Each Dogon village makes a new serpent-shaped mask every 60 years to coincide with the sigi. Masks are an important part of Dogon culture and many rituals have particular masks associated with them. In addition to the imina na used in the sigi, the kanaga is used in the dama and is made in great secrecy. The kanaga has a vertical axis mundi and corssbars representing heaven and earth. The whole mask also symbolizes the Amma. Also testifying to the importance of masks to the Dogon is the ava, a masked society exclusively for men, with the exception of a single female member known as the Yasigine.

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An important element of Dogon culture, and evident in many traditions and rituals, is the concept of the nyama or life force. Released upon death, nyama can reside in wood--as in wooden sculptures--and can be transferred from one residence or support to another--as in blood sacrifices poured on sculptures and shrines. The Dogon nyama is similar to the Egyptian concept of the ka which can reside in stone. Besides those materials used to transfer nyama from one support to another, the Dogon utilize a variety of other sacrifical materials including animal blood, millet porridge and flour, fruit and vegetable juices and pulp, baobab seed flour, burned herbs, charcoal, and oils including the sa tree oil (lannea acida). By pouring these living materials over altars and sacred objects both the offerer and the offeree are strengthened. Venerated objects become encrusted with these offerings, making them highly powerful to the Dogon and highly valued to art collectors. Dogon art is highly prized throughout the world by museums and collectors. Especially valued are the many varieties of masks, granary doors, and sculptures of ancestors and legendary figures. Other contemporary African cultures highly-regarded for their cultural artifacts include the Yoruba culture and the Ashanti culture. In terms of ancient Africa, the royal art work of the great city-state of Benin (beginning 12th century) is especially prized. Characteristics of Dogon Architecture • Adobe and thatch construction • All building types have complex mythic, symbolic and anthropomorphic meanings • Villages are usually at the base of cliffs and consist of clusters of buildings including the

following traditional types: ⇒ -Grannaries: tall and square with round thatched-roofs casually perched on them ⇒ -Houses: low and flat-roofed and incorporating family courtyards; traditionally, they are

schematically shaped in plan like a person ⇒ -Ginna: clan head’s residence where several kinds of altars are kept, especially in the gridlike

recesses on the facde; the ginna houses the altar to the vageu ancestors ⇒ -Binu Shrines: sanctuaries for the immortal ancestors; facades have round corner turrets,

“horns of concecration: type altar ounds at the center top of the wall; molded central doorway with square niches above

⇒ -Togu na: men’s meeting house; low structure with thick flat roof made of stacked millet stalks which keep interior cool; roof is traditionally supported on carved wooden posts often representing female ancestors

⇒ -Menstrual hut: round house, women’s house, symbolic of the womb, in which menstruating women are secluded

⇒ -Burial caves: funrals take place in the village and later the bones of the dead are ceremonially placed in sacred caves in cliffs

• Traditional building types are often arranged in a symbolic village plan, schematically shaped like a person with the togu na as the head; family houses as the chest; the menstrual hut as the hands; stone for oil crushing as the female genitalia; village altar as the male sex organ; secondary altars as the feet

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Important Buildings & Artifacts * Plan of Dogon Village, Mali, West Africa, 15th-20th centuries (Lect.) * Traditional Dogon Building Types: granary, house, ginna, binu, togu na, menstrual hut,

burial caves, Mali, West Africa, 15th-20th centuries (Lect.) Dogon Kanaga Mask, Mali, West Africa, early 20th century (25-15) Great Friday Mosque, Ancient City of Djenné, Mali, 13th century original (13-10) Conical Tower, Great Zimbabwe, before 1450 (13-11) Bibliography Attenborough, David. The Tribal Eye. New York: Norton, 1976. Bourgeois, Jean-Louis and Carollee Pelos. Spectacular Vernacular: The Adobe Tradition. New

York: Aperture Books, 1989. Ezra, Kate. The Art of the Dogon. New York: Metropolitain Museum of Art, 1988. Fraser, Douglas, ed. African Art as Philosophy. New York: Interbook, 1974. Frazer, Douglas. Village Planning in the Primitive World. New York: George Braziller, 1968. Garlake, Peter S. Great Zimbabwe. New York: Stein and Day, 1973. Griaule, Marcel. Conversations with Ogotemmêli: An Introduction to Dogon Religious Ideas.

London: Oxford University Press, 1970. Laude, Jean. African Art of the Dogon: Myths of the Cliff Dwellers. New York: Viking and

Brooklyn Museum of Art, 1973. van Eyck, Aldo. “A Miracle of Moderation,” Via 1 (1968), pp. 96-125. [special issue on

Ecology in Design] Supplemental Illustrations of Required (*) Works, African Architecture

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Supplemental Illustrations of Required (*) Works, African Architecture

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Supplemental Illustrations of Required (*) Works, African Architecture

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WEEK 3 Egyptian Art & Architecture Introduction O Atum-Kheprer, thou wast on high on the (primeval) hill; thou didst arise as the ben-bird of the ben-stone in the Ben-House in Heliopolis…O Atum, put thou thy arms about King Nefer-ka-Re, about this construction work, about this pyramid, as the arms of a Ka. For the Ka of King Nefer-ka-Re is in it, enduring for the course of eternity. -Egyptian Pyramid Inscription, 2300 BCE The geographic setting: Nile Valley in the northeast region of the African continent, south of the Mediterranean Sea and west of the Red Sea. The area has natural symmetry, regular annual flooding, and a desert climate. The history, culture, and art of ancient Egypt are defined by the Nile River, the world’s longest, which flows south to north in a relatively straight course. Historically, Lower Egypt was to the north, defined by the delta; Upper Egypt was to the south. The cultural setting: Egyptian history is characterized by a 3000-year continuity in its culture and world view. There are five major divisions in Egyptian chronology, separated by intermediate periods of warfare and dissolution after which Egypt always managed to restore and renew itself: PRE-DYNASTIC AND EARLY DYNASTIC PERIODS (c. 3150-2700 BCE): Foundations of

Egyptian culture; unification of Upper & Lower Egypt; rise of pharaonic, theocratic state (Narmer palette); mud-brick mastaba tombs.

OLD KINGDOM (c. 2700-2l90 BCE, Dynasties III-VI): Consolidation of the state, building of the great pyramids (Sakkara, Giza), first known individual architect (Imhotep); symbolism of the “primeval hill” and the ben-stone, rise of the logos principle.

MIDDLE KINGDOM (c. 2040-1674 BCE): Funerary complexes, rock-cut tombs. NEW KINGDOM (c. 1552-1069 BCE): Imperialistic era; reigns of Queen Hatshepsut (Funerary

Temple), Akhenaton & Nefertiti (capital at Amarna), Tutankhamen (spectacular tomb finds), Ramesses II (Abu-Simbel); ascendance of worship of the Sun God Amon (Amon-Re or Amon-Ra), many pharaohs add to the massive stone pylon-temples of Amon at Karnak & Luxor; evolution of pyramid into obelisk as a “ray of sun.”

PTOLEMAIC PERIOD (c. 300-30 BCE): Egypt under Greek control after Alexander the Great. Construction of smaller stone temples in the New Kingdom style (Edfu, Dendura, Philae). No new forms introduced, but concludes nearly 3,000 years of continuity in ancient Egyptian culture and architecture.

There are a variety of concepts and symbols which persisted throughout the long period of Egyptian civilization: • The Way: Nile, temple axis, processional routes, immortality, celestial barges • The Union of Opposites: uniting of the Two Lands (Upper and Lower Egypt) • Divine Kingship: kingship bestowed by deities, king as uniter of opposites • The Primeval Hill: mythic motif of “The Mountain Arising out of the Sea of Chaos,” benben

stone, hill of Atum, original “pyramid” • Ka: vital force, channeled through the pharaoh (as God-King), the pyramid apex, stone • Horns of Consecration: Ka symbol, Horns of Goddess Hathor, hills flanking Nile, pylons,

scarab’s pincers • The Logos Principle: sacred names, numbers, geometry, standards of measurement

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• The Sun: deity, scarab’s ball of dung, obelisk, temple, idea. Architectural Characteristics of Egyptian Architecture • Highly differentiated architecture; building types include tombs, temples, dwellings, palaces,

workers’ quarters, etc. (This is true also of all succeeding cultures covered in this course) • Stone used for sacred structures (repository of the Ka) • Linearity (expression of “the Way”) • Lotus capitals on columns; columns are inside buildings. • Highly stylized relief sculpture and papyri with scenes from daily life, illustrations of

religious rites and deities, hieroglyphic writing, etc. • Pylon form (in temples of the New Kingdom & after) • Egyptian architecture is especially famous for its massive stone pyramids of the Old

Kingdom and temples of the New Kingdom Important Buildings & Artifacts Amratian Goddess. Predynastic, c. 3500 BCE (Lect.) Palette of King Narmer, Hierakonpolis, Egypt, Early Dynastic, c. 3150-3125 BCE (3-4) * Funerary Complex of King Zoser (Zoser’s Stepped Pyramid), Imhoptep (architect), Saqqara,

Egypt; Old Kingdom, 3rd. Dynasty, c. 3150-3125 BCE (3-7, 3-8, 3-9) * Giza Pyramids (of Cheops, Chefren, & Mykerinos), Giza, Egypt. Old Kingdom, 4th. Dynasty,

c. 2601-2515 BCE (3-10, 3-11) * Funerary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Senmut (architect), Deir el-Bahri, Egypt. New

Kingdom 18th Dynasty, c. 2009-1997 BCE (3-31, 3-32) Temple of Amon, Mut, and Khonsu, Luxor, Egypt. New Kingdom, c. 1400 BCE (Lect.) * Temple of Amon, Karnak, New Kingdom, c. 1294-1212 BCE (3-26-29) Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel, Nubia, New Kingdom, c. 1279-1212 BCE (3-33-35) Nefertiti. New Kingdom, c. 1348-1336 BCE (3-38) Mask of King Tutankhamen, Valley of the Kings, Egypt, New Kingdom, c. 1350 BCE (Lect.) * Judgment Before Osiris, Books of the Dead, Thebes, Egypt. New Kingdom, 1285 BCE (3-43) Temple of Horus, Edfu, Egypt. Ptolemaic, 3rd-1st c. BCE (Lect.) Temple of Hathor, Dendura, Egypt. Ptolemaic, 2nd c. BCE-1st c. A.D. (Lect.) Terminology Cavetto Causeway Clerestory

Hieratic Hypostyle Mastaba

Peristyle Pylon

Bibliography Budge, E. Wallis, Translator. The Egyptian Book of the Dead. Dover. Clark, R.T. Rundle. Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. Frankfort, Henri. Kingship and the Gods. University of Chicago. Giedion, S. The Eternal Present: The Beginnings of Architecture. Princeton/Bollingen. Lloyd, S. et al. Ancient Architecture: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Crete, Greece. Abrams. Pritchard, James B. Ancient Near Eastern Texts. Princeton. — The Ancient Near East in Pictures. Princeton.

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WEEK 4 Mesopotamian Architecture (Also see Aegean notes. Aegean is also covered in this lecture) In a Late Sumerian cuneiform text of c. 2000 BCE inscribed on a tablet now in the Louvre the name of the goddess-mother of the universe, Nammu, is denoted by an ideogram signifying “sea” and she is given praise as ‘the mother who gave birth to Heaven-and-Earth [ama tu an-ki]’. Moreover, a second tablet of about the same date preserved in the University Museum, Philadelphia, tells us that when this ‘Heaven-and-Earth’ emerged from the primal sea, its form was of a mountain whose summit, Heaven (An) was male, and lower portion (Ki), female; further, that from this dual being the air-god Enlil was born, by whom the two were separated.

Joseph Campbell, The Mythic Image (1974) Introduction The setting: swampy, humid valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia (Greek: meso + potamia=”between the rivers”), located in modern-day Iraq. These valleys lacked the predictable regularity and symmetry of Egypt’s Nile valley, nonetheless, this area, often called “the cradle of civilization,” saw the rise of Sumerian city states (Ur, Uruk, Lagash). Eventually, the local temple form evolved into the ziggurat (Babylonian: zagaru= “to be tall, to be lofty”)—the ultimate expression of Sumerian social structure, religion, and culture. In addition to the city states of Sumer there were other distinct Mesopotamian cultures: Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian. Also characterized by organized warfare; stamp and cylinder seals (concept of private property); cuneiform writing, king-lists (evidence of written history); architectural plans and maps (Gudea statue, Nippur map); codified laws (Hammurabi’s Code); concept of “as above, so below;” astronomy/astrology; sacred marriage rite. Continuity and change in the Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian empires. A comparable civilization grew up in the Indus Valley, located in modern-day Pakistan; this was the earliest civilization of South Asia. Its principal cities were Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, c. 2500-1800 BCE. The Indust Valley civilization was characterized by cultural coherence across cities, highly advanced technical and engineering skills, communal food distribution, ritual baths, sophisticated plumbing and drainage; images of goddesses, priest, bull. Writing is so far undeciphered. Architectural Characteristics of Mesopotamia • Use of mud-brick and reeds (stone and wood not readily available), glazed tiles used for

ornament. • Stepped ziggurat (Mesopotamia’s “pyramid”), a temple-mountain, not a tomb • Walled, multi-story courtyard houses; walled city-states centered on temple complexes. • Increasing differentiation of sacred architecture as it evolves from a simple, easily accessible

shrine on ground level (Eridu shrine) to large formal temples on platforms elevated above the common people (White Temple) to monumental complexes with temples raised on high ziggurats accessible only to priests and royalty (Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu).

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Important Buildings & Artifacts Eridu Temple XVII, Eridu, Iraq (Predynastic Mesopotamia). c. 5000 BCE ( Lect.) White Temple & Anu Ziggurat, Uruk (modern Warka), Iraq, Sumerian, c. 3100 BCE (2-5) Sculptured Vase, Uruk, Sumerian. c. 3500-3000 BCE (2-8) Female Head, Uruk, Sumerian, c. 3500-3000 BCE (2-7) Vulture Stele (Stele of King Eannatum), Lagash, Iraq, Sumerian, c. 2560 BCE (Lect.) * Stele of Naram-Sin, Susa, Iran, Akkadian. c. 2254-2218 BCE (2-15) * City of Ur, Mesopotamia, Sumerian. c. 2000 BCE (occupied 4500-400 BCE). (Lect) * Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu, Ur, Iraq, Sumerian. c. 2100-2050 BCE (2-6) Stele of Ur-Nammu, Ur, Sumerian, c. 2100 BCE (Lect.) Statue of Gudea with architectural plan, Lagash, Iraq, Sumerian, c. 2150. (Lect.) Stele with the Code of Hammurabi, Susa, Iran, Babylonian, c. 1792-1750 BCE. (2-17) * Mohenjo-Daro, Pakistan, Indus Valley Civilization. c. 2500-1800. (Lect.) Sculpture Relief of Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions, Palaces at Nimrud and Nineveh, Iraq, Assyrian, 850 BCE (2-19) Citadel and Palace Complex of Sargon II, Dur Sharrukin (modern Khorasabad), Iraq, Assyrian, c. 721-706 BCE (2-20) Ishtar Gate, Babylon, Neo-Babylonian, 575 BCE (2-23-24) Palaces at Persepolis, Iran, Persian, 539-331 BCE (2-28-29) Terminology cella citadel cuneiform stela ziggurat Bibliography Campbell, Joseph. The Mythic Image. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1974. Ry van Beest Holle, Carel J. du. Art of the Ancient Near and Middle East. New York: Abrams,

1970. Frankfort, Henri. Kingship and the Gods. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1978. Lloyd, Seton, et al. Ancient Architecture: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Crete, Greece. New York:

Abrams, 1973. Pritchard, James B. Ancient Near Eastern Texts. 1969; rpt. Princeton: Princeton University

Press, 1978. Pritchard, James B. The Ancient Near East in Pictures. Princeton: Princeton University Press,

1954. Wolstein, Diane and Samuel Noah Kramer. Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth. New York:

Harper & Row, 1983.

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Supplemental Illustrations of Required (*) Works, Mesopotamia & Indus Valley

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Supplemental Illustrations of Required (*) Works, Mesopotamia & Indus Valley

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WEEK 4 Aegean (continued)

Minoans & Myceneans Geographic setting: present-day Aegean Islands, Crete, Greece, and Albania and Bulgaria. Located between three continents, the Aegean archipelago cradled the first European civilization that developed towns, palaces, art, and a system of writing. The islands were first settled in the 7th millennium BCE by people from Anatolia who brought with them the goddess culture as we know it from Chatal Huyuk. During the late Neolithic period, referred to as the Cycladic culture in this area, the islands were inhabited by a scattered population. Rooted in a goddess culture, the Minoan civilization developed after 2000 BCE with the use of metals. The Minoans became urban and mercantile and their towns became the maritime center of the Mediterranean. The most important palace center was Knossos, then Phaistos, and then Mallia. The mythological tale of Europa, the bull, and King Minos (rewritten by the Greeks) reveals the practices and beliefs of Minoan culture not only in their rituals but also in their art and architecture. It was during the most flourishing period that the Minoan civilization came to an end in the mid 15th century BCE. Their demise was possibly due to the catastrophic eruption of the volcano on the island of Thera that left a thick deposit of volcanic ash over Crete ruining its agriculture and the subsequent take over by the conquering Mycenaeans. The Mycenaeans, in contrast to the Minoans, were war-like and worshipped many different gods and goddesses (these became the Homeric pantheon). The two important Mycenaeans citadels were Mycenae and Tiryns (13th c. BCE). The Trojan war caused the downfall of the Mycenaean civilization. After more than a hundred years of turmoil and unrest the Dorians from northern Greece completely destroyed the Mycenaeans in 1100 BCE, leaving Crete in a state of decay. From 1100 BCE to the 4th century BCE this area fell into a period called the ancient Dark Ages. Architectural Characteristics of Minoan Palace Complex • Symbolic location aligned to sacred sites • Not fortified • Rubble and mud brick construction faced with dressed stone • Labyrinth-like plan • Plan areas are subdivided by function • Plan turns inward and is arranged in relation to the courtyard • Central courtyard

Characteristics of Minoan Art • The use of both stylized geometric and figurative forms • Continuous flowing lines • Painted figures recall Egyptian reliefs but are more fluid in form • Joyful and playful depictions of animals and people primarily

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Architectural Characteristics of Mycenaean Citadel • Fortified - located on hilltops • Cyclopean stone walls • Corbelled vault stone construction • Wood frame structures infilled with rubble and coated with plaster (resistant to earthquakes) • Central location of the megaron • Shaft graves Characteristics of Mycenaenan Art • Forms influenced by Minoan art but are more restrained • Preference for war themes Important Buildings and Artifacts Votive Figures of Women, Cycladic Islands, c. 2500-2200 BCE (4-3) * Palace of Knossos, Knossos, Crete, c. 1700-1300 BCE (4-5-8) Goddess with Snake, Palace of Knosso, Crete, c. 1700-1550 BCE (4-9) * Bull Jumping wall painting, Palace of Knossos, Crete, c. 1550-1450 BCE (4-15) Citadel of Mycenae, Mycenae, Greece, c. 1600-1200 BCE (4-17) * Lioness Gate, Mycenae, Greece, c. 1300-1200 BCE (4-18) * Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae, Greece, c. 1300-1200 BCE (4-20-21) Funerary mask from the royal tombs at Mycenae, Greece, c. 1550-1500 BCE (4-19) * Citadel of Tiryns, Tiryns, Greece, c. 1300-1200 BCE (4-22-23) Megaron in the palace of Pylos, Pylos, Greece, c. 1300-1200 BCE (4-24) Terminology ashlar beehive tombs capstone citadel corbelled vault cyclopean construction faience labyrinth megaron passage graves relieving arch shaft graves stylized designs Bibliography Graham, J. Walter. The Palaces of Crete. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987. Scully, Vincent. The Earth, the Temple and the Gods: Greek Sacred Architecture. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1969 [especially chapters 1-3, pp. 1-39]. Taylour, Lord William. The Mycenaeans. London: Thames and Hudson, 1983.

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Weeks 5 & 6 Greek Art & Architecture

Introduction The geographic setting: present-day Greece, western Turkey, Sicily, southern Italy, and certain coastal areas of the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. Greek culture developed from 900 BCE to 30 BCE through various periods, three of which stand out distinctly: the Archaic period, the Classical period, and the Hellenistic period. The Archaic period from about 600-480 BCE was a time of uninterrupted energetic development in the arts as well as in architecture which saw the rise of strong city-states, namely Athens. The temple form as a monumental structure dedicated to the gods and goddesses flourished during this time. The Classical period from about 480-320 BCE, also known as the Age of Pericles, marked the culmination of Athenian military and political power signified by the construction of the temples on the Acropolis. The Athenians emerged as the leaders of the Mediterranean in the wake of the Persian Wars. The Hellenistic period from about 320-30 BCE marked the time after Alexander the Great died leaving the Greek empire he had helped expand in a weakened position without a central administrative structure. Gradually, during the second half of the first century BCE the Roman empire conquered the Greek city-states. Philosophically, the Classical Greeks believed that the main strive of human beings was for “truth” which embodied the eternal. They believed that people existed in two realms: the spiritual realm which was the unknown, held eternal truths, and was perfect; and the material realm which could be known only through the senses, was comprised of human opinions, and was imperfect. The spiritual realm was of the higher order. In the arts they strove for perfection by their constant search for ideal form as seen in the anatomical perfection of figurative sculpture and in the refinement of the classical orders in architecture. The temples designed to house the gods and goddesses were considered the most important building type. Characteristics of Greek Architecture Archaic Temples

• Transition from impermanent (wood) to permanent (stone) materials • Dominance of post and lintel construction • Integration of sculpture and architecture • Over structured and heavy proportions

Classical Temples • Located on ancient sacred sites - ie. the Acropolis • Temples are not for congregation, worshipping took place outside the temple • Refined proportions and visual corrections - striving for perfection • Designed as sculpture in the round • Asymmetrical placement of temples with oblique views

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Hellenistic Temples

• Experimentation and the use of novel combinations of elements • Many different styles occurring at the same time • Theatrical effect • Opulent decoration • Complex plans • More sculptural both on the inside and outside Characteristics of Greek Art Archaic Sculpture

• Egyptian influence - square block-like frame - stylized features • For votive and commemorative purposes • They are neither god nor human but something in-between • Serene facial expressions

Classical Sculpture • Idealized bodies that seek perfection of form - same approach as the temple design • Refined human proportions • Balanced composition yet in motion • Calm, mask-like facial expressions

Hellenistic Sculpture • General themes of suffering and struggle • Realistic depiction of the human body • Dramatic and theatrical effect • Real facial expressions of human pathos

caryatids cella Colonnade high relief Important Buildings and Artifacts Temple of Hera I, Paestum, Italy, c. 550 BCE (5-9-10) * The Greek Orders -- Doric, Ionic, Corinthian (p. 164) * Kouros, Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, marble, c. 600 BCE (5-17) Peplos Kore, from the Acropolis, Athens, marble, c. 530 BCE (5-20) Agora, Athens, Greece, c. 400 BCE (5-37) * Acropolis, Athens, Greece, c. 400 BCE (5-38) * Parthenon, Kallikrates and Iktinos, Acropolis, Athens, Greece, 447-438 BCE (5-39-44) Propylaia, Mnesikles, Acropolis, Athens, Greece, 437-432 BCE Erechtheion, Mnesikles, Acropolis, Athens, Greece, 430-405 BCE (5-48-49) Discus Thrower, Roman marble copy of original bronze, c. 450 BCE (5-1) Alexander the Great Confronts Darius III at the Battle of Issos, Roman mosaic copy of

Greek painting, c. 310 BCE (5-67) Theater at Epidauros, Greece, c. 350 BCE (5-71-72) Laocoön and His Sons, Musei Vaticani, Rome, Italy, marble, 2nd or 1st century BCE (5-

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79) Terminology kore kouros orchestra orthogonal plan peplos peripteral temple propylon proscenium stoa temenos tholos treasuries Column Orders architrave capital cornice drum entablature pediment shaft stereobate stylobate Doric Order Ionic Order abacus base echinus flute triglyph volute metope frieze acroterion

Bibliography Boardman, John. Greek Art. New York, London: Thames and Hudson, 1985. Harrington, Spencer, “Shoring up the Temple of Athena,” Archaeology (Jan.-Feb. 1992):

32-43. Lawrence, A.W. Greek Architecture. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1983. Martin, Roland. Greek Architecture. New York: Electa/Rizzoli, 1980. Robertson, D.S. Greek and Roman Architecture. Cambridge: Cambridge University

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Press, 1943.

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Weeks 8 Etruscan and Roman (week 7 is the midterm)

Introduction The geographic setting: Etruria was located in modern Tuscany and the Early Roman civilization was located throughout the Italian peninsula, Sardinia, and Corsica primarily. Eventually, it expanded its dominion along the countries of the Mediterranean coast. The Etruscans settled in central Italy around the 7th century BCE, reaching the height of their power in the 6th century BCE. They were taken over by the Romans in the 3rd century BCE. They lived an independent existence and were influenced by the Greeks and the Near East in the development of a distinct language, set of laws, engineering, art, architecture, and urban planning. The Romans adopted the Etruscan culture which served as their foundation, especially in architecture and urban planning.

The Romans gained their identity in the 6th century BCE as a group of Latin-speaking people who settled in and around the city of Rome. The mythological legend of Romulus and Remus tells the story of the founding of the city of Rome. The Romans established a sophisticated system of rule and law which they termed the Republic (c. 500 to 27 BCE). This period ended with a civil war and the murder of Julius Cesar in 44 BCE. After a period of turmoil, Augustus was ordained the first emperor of Rome in 27 BCE and he reigned during a conservative and stable period lasting until until 14 AD. Through out this time the Romans began a process of alliance and conquest. As they absorbed the different cultures they conquered, such as the very influential Greeks, their art and architecture consequently evolved and transformed. During this time we can see the development of urban planning in the example of Pompeii that included a great variety of buildings ranging from temples and palaces designed for the affluent rich social strata to ordinary housing and market places for the lower classes. The Romans showed a strong practical streak that reflected in everything they created. In architecture they advanced the technology of building materials and construction as well as the development of building types to accommodate a growing imperial public life--basilicas, forums, public baths, theaters, stadiums, circuses, etc. Characteristics of Etruscan Architecture • Arched corbelled vault gates • Cut rock tombs • Temple design:

o Usually located on the central square of town facing south o Mud brick with wooden frame and roof clad in brightly painted terracotta tiles o Raised on a podium o Frontal approach o Tuscan order o Typically a porch and cella disposition

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Characteristics of Etruscan Art • Influenced by Archaic Greece • Large scale brightly painted terracotta sculpture Characteristics of Roman Architecture (Also see Characteristics of Roman Architecture from Lecture 9) • Use of concrete allows for plastic forms and massive structures • Engineering feats - ie. aqueducts, roads • Urban planning influenced by the Etruscans • Development of multi-unit urban residential blocks • New building types • Temple design:

o Influenced by the Etruscans and the Greeks o Located in the countryside and in the cities ie. the streets and the forum o High podium o Frontal approach o Typically a porch and cella disposition o Greek-like superstructure and roof o Marble o Engaged columns around the perimeter of the cella

Roman Characteristics of Art • Realism • Sacred ritual themes as well as secular every-day themes • Political propaganda Important Buildings and Artifacts * Reconstruction of Etruscan Temple based on the descriptions of Vitruvius, Etruria, Italy,

c. 700 BCE (6-3, 6-4) Burial chamber at Cerveteri, Italy, 3rd century BCE (6-7) Sarcophagus from Cerveteri, Italy, c. 520 BCE (6-8) She-Wolf, Museo Capitolino, Rome, Italy, bronze, c. 500-480 BCE (6-11) Sanctuary of Fortuna, Palestrina, Italy begun c. 100 BCE (6-13) Plan of the city of Pompeii, Italy, 79 (6-47) * Reconstruction of the House of the Silver Wedding, Pompeii, Italy, 2nd century BCE

(6-53) Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, Italy, c. 50 BCE (Lect.) Pont du Gard, Nîmes, France, late 1st century BCE (6-22) * Maison Carrée, Nîmes, France, c. 20 BCE (6-15-16) Ara Pacis, Rome, Italy, marble, 13-9 BCE (6-27, 6-28, 6-29)

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Terminology acanthus capitals arcades atrium barrel vault basilica cardo and decumanus centering Composite order

concrete courses engaged columns forum intuitive perspective jambs keystone low relief

pedestal pilasters podium prostyle temple pseudo-peripteral temple tablinum Tuscan order voussoirs

Bibliography Ariès, Philippe, and Duby, George, eds. A History of Private Life: From Pagan Rome to

Byzantium, vol. 1, trans. Arthur Goldhammer. Cambridge: Belknap, 1987. Boethius, Axel, and Ward-Perkins, J.B. Etruscan and Early Roman Architecture.

Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1978. Grant, Michael. Cities of Vesuvius: Pompeii and Herculaneum. Harmondsworth:

Penguin Books, 1976. Rediscovering Pompeii. Rome: L’Erma di Bretschneider, 1990. Sprenger, Maja, and Bartolini, Gilda, The Etruscans: Their History, Art, and Architecture.

New York: Abrams, 1983.

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Weeks 9 Roman Architecture Introduction The geographic setting: Rome, Italy, and the regions in Europe, the Mediterranean, Asia, and Africa included within the Roman Empire. Roman civilization developed out of the Etruscan, first as a republic and later as an empire that dominated the entire Mediterranean and the areas mentioned above. The empire had highly sophisticated and far-reaching systems of rule, law, trade, roads, etc. Roman art has had a continuing influence on artifacts in Western civilization, although Rome had limited creative originality, primarily borrowing from the cultures it conquered, especially the Greek. The highly civic and public life in Rome was a result of the comfort and leisure brought by the great wealth flowing into the city from the empire. The proliferation of building types was produced by the institutions growing out of this public life — the temple, stadium, basilica, forum, circus, and bath — the forms of which persisted in Western architecture well into the 20th century. Other important structures were the palace complex and atrium house, and civil engineering projects such as roads and aqueducts. After the reign of Augustus there followed a series emperors during the period 14 to 337. Trajan and Hadian ruled during the height of the Roman empire. Trajan’s reign (98-117) was a period of military expansion which established the greatest geographical extent of the empire. Hadrian’s reign (117-138) was a time of peace and stability as Rome’s authority was unquestioned throughout the provinces. The empire fell apart in 337 under the divided administration which marked the start of the reign of Constantine I, who advocated Christianity as the official religion of the empire. Each Roman emperor had a direct influence on the art and architecture produced during their reigns. Roman Architectural Characteristics • Loose use of the Greek orders, not as structure but as applied decoration. Introduction of the

Composite order. • Use of unreinforced rubble concrete. The basic structural fabric, in Rome and its vicinity

from Nero’s time onward, was composed of brick-faced walls, of arch-forms, and of vaults—all of concrete.

• Extensive use of the arch and the vault. (Arches and vaults were used before the Romans, but not prominently.)

• Massive public works. Monuments and public structures for the masses as imperial propaganda. Development of the multi-unit urban residential block.

• Highly decorated marble/stone for monuments; simple exposed brick for utilitarian structures. • Interested in spatial effects created by light • Monumental, formal, axial planning • Solids were of secondary importance to the spaces they bounded and defined; significant

hollows, not visible masses, were the essence of this architecture.

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• Interior spaces and effects were emphasized.

o The boundaries of these spaces were non-prismatic, for surfaces of single or double curvature, or both, were always present.

o These spaces were unobstructed by interior support. o Centralized axes were often readily apparent. o When trabeation was used, its importance to the concept of design was almost

always subordinated to that of the spaces and impression derived from vaulting. • Two approaches to design, e.g.:

1. Baths of Caracalla -Symmetrical -Axial with multiple focal points -Rhythmic patterns -Variety of different geometric shapes

2. Hadrian’s Villa -Series of structures loosely related at oblique angles -Many localized axes

Characteristics of Roman Art • Many different styles • Realism • Monumental scale

Important Buildings and Artifacts * Colosseum, Rome, Italy, 72-80 (6-31-33) Imperial Forum, Rome, Italy, c. 46 BCE-117 (6-26) Column of Trajan, Rome, Italy, 106-113 (6-28,39) Markets of Trajan, Rome, Italy, 110-112 (6-29) * Pantheon, Rome, Italy, 125-128 (6-34-36) Hadrian’s Villa, Tivoli, Italy, c. 135 (6-55-56) * Baths of Caracalla, Rome, Italy, c. 211-17 (6-69, 6-71) * Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine, Rome, Italy, 306-313 (6-81) * Arch of Constantine, Rome, Italy, 312-315 (6-79) Terminology apse broken pediment buttresses caldarium, tepidarium, and frigidarium cartouches

clerestory coffers corbels groin vault hypostyle hall nave

oculus rosettes triumphal arch

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Bibliography MacDonald, William L. The Architecture of the Roman Empire: An Introductory Study. New

Haven: Yale University Press, 1982. _____ , The Pantheon: Design, Meaning, and Progeny. Cambridge: Harvard University Press,

1976. Quennell, Peter. The Colosseum. New York: Newsweek, 1971. Sear, Frank. Roman Architecture. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982. Strong, Donald. Roman Art. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1988. Ward-Perkins, J.B. Roman Architecture. New York: Electa/Rizzoli, 1988. Wheeler, Sir Robert Eric Mortimer. Roman Art and Architecture. New York: Oxford University Press, 1964.

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Week 10 Early Christian, Byzantine, Carolingian & Romanesque

Introduction: Historical, Geographic & Cultural Setting Early Christian: the late Roman Empire of the 4th century and early 5th centuries, principally in present-day Italy and parts of Turkey, Syria, Israel. This era sees the legitimization and expansion of Christianity following the religion’s first two centuries as a Jewish sect. Christianity is adopted by a number of powerful rulers, beginning with the Roman Emperor Constantine who, establishes official tolerance for Christianity in 313. Christianity soon becomes the de facto religion of the realm and the state and church become closely entwined, especially with respect to building projects. Constantine oversees the design and construction of Old St. Peter’s which establishes the pattern for subsequent churches throughout the empire. In 331, Constantine moves the imperial capitol east, from Rome to Byzantium (present-day Istanbul) which is renamed Constantinople. This move, combined with the sack of Rome by the Goths in 410 ensures that subsequent cultural developments related to the nearly-collapsed Roman empire will emanate from the east. Byzantine: the eastern or Byzantine empire from the 5th to 11th centuries, stretching from eastern Italy, across the Mediterranean world (Greece, Turkey) to present-day Syria and eventually Russia. Byzantine power, from the capital at Constantinople, is consolidated by Justinian I, whose reign (527-65) ushers in the first so-called Golden Age of Byzantium which lasts into the 8th century. Justinian imposes order in the eastern empire with the Code of Civil Law that establishes a uniform legal system; he establishes fortifications of the western and eastern extremes of the empire, notably at Ravenna in Italy which flourishes as a frontier center/ Recognizing the political significance of architecture as a manifestation of power and desiring to make Byzantium rival the glories of ancient Rome, Justinian embarked on major building campaigns that produced many churches, including Hagia Sophia. After Justinian, the Byzantine empire remained a mighty commercial and military power and a center of arts and learning. Cut off from the Christian west, Byzantine Christianity developed into a distinct religion with its own liturgical customs. Carolingian: present-day Western Europe from the 8th-10th centuries as it emerges from the so-called Dark Ages. The Holy Roman Empire, stretching from Aachen in western Germany to Rome in Italy, is consolidated by Charlemagne, a Frankish king who converts to Christianity in 772. His conversion follows that of other barbarian rulers who fell sway to the religion that had established itself throughout Britain, France, the Iberian peninsula, and Germany by 600 mainly through missionaries and the establishment of monasteries. Prior to Charlemagne’s rule, monasteries had sheltered the surviving concepts of Roman order and preserved vestiges of Roman and Early Christian learning. Charlemagne reinvigorates monasteries throughout the continent and gradually they become flourishing, if still isolated, cultural centers. Meanwhile, beyond the cloister wall or abbey gatehouse, the built world was still ruled by necessity and function, but barbarian cultures nonetheless flourished, as exemplified by the everyday arts (jewelry, ships, oral traditions) of the Celtic, Frankish, and Anglo-Saxon, and Viking tribes.

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Romanesque: Italy and western Europe, 11-12th centuries which exists as a series of loose confederations and independent states including present-day Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain (which was divided between Christian north and Islamic South). After 1000, commercial activity increases; ancient Roman trade routes are re-established and Christian pilgrimage routes linking monasteries and holy sites stimulate the growth of towns (and the re-emergence of urban life) and the expansion of church building. As travel increases, cultural exchange begins anew between disparate parts of the west and, through the crusades (beginning 1095), with the east as well. The prosperity of the Romanesque period leads to the thriving urban culture of the Gothic period. Early Christian Architectural Characteristics • evolution of new building types for Christian worship out of former house-churches, new

types adopted from existing Roman models; basilica is most important adaptation, becomes pattern for Christian churches across the empire, beginning with Old St. Peter’s; Roman tholos type influences centrally-planned church

• the basilica, originally a Roman civic building type, is adapted with changes: side-entrance is changed to end-entrance to emphasize long processional nave; masonry vaults are replaced with simple wood truss roofs; addition of narthex, campanile, etc.

• loss of sophisticated Roman engineering and craftsmanship; shift to simplified building techniques and artisan practices

• re-use of elements from Roman buildings; churches often feature colonnades and arcades with mismatched “borrowed” elements

• purposeful contrast between exterior and interior of sacred buildings; outside, often rough with brick or other small masonry units and no decoration; inside, frescoes and mosaics

Byzantine Architectural Characteristics • represents fusion of west and east; remnants of Roman Empire combined with influences of

Syria, Egypt, Persia, etc. (evident in design, engineering and ornament) • Byzantine church type combines basilica and tholos types with new interest in creating

soaring interior spaces; church type adapted to meet needs of Byzantine liturgy • pendentive and squinch dome spans huge interior spaces • growing complexity of interior spatial arrangements • elaborate tile mosaics, gold leaf, and marble revetment cover interior walls and domes to

create otherworldly (heavenly) atmosphere • numerical symbolism becomes important in sacred architecture • elements from Roman buildings still re-used, but also new, highly skilled stonework from

across empire (wide variety of materials) • construction with Byzantine bricks (18” x 18” x 2”)

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Carolingian Architectural Characteristics • general refinement of Early Christian types in the west and development of features that will

become commonplace in Romanesque churches, esp. westwork (elaborate multistoried towered narthex)

• growing awareness and envy of classical architecture of the past, sometimes leads to naïve use of classical details applied to structures with heavy and massive features (blind arcades)

• indigenous (non-classical) northern building elements (steep roofs, towers, and geometric decoration) from decorative arts of so-called barbarian tribes join architectural mainstream

• construction still of small masonry units, solid walls with limited openings • monasteries develop as total idealized communities with fixed planning elements (church,

cloister, refectory, dormitory, etc.) Romanesque Architectural Characteristics • buildings “in the Roman manner” featuring rounded arches, masonry vaults (characteristic of

Roman imperial building), and vestigial classical forms • growth in church scale and size due to prosperity of abbeys and monasteries • many regional stylistic variations • continued use of small unit masonry construction with thick solid walls • continuing search for successful fireproofing, desire to move away from wooden truss work • semicircular arch almost totally dominates all architectural undertaking, especially

pronounced in banded barrel vaults of nave and arcades of side aisles • development of the ribbed vault and buttress-thickened wall, allowing increase in nave height • relatively austere exteriors and dark interiors, enlivened by sculpture at entrance portals and

historiated capitals on columns of interior aisles Important Buildings & Artifacts House–Church & House-Synagogue, Dura-Europos, Syria, Jewish/Early Christian, c. 240-45 (7-5-6) * Old St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy, Early Christian, c.320-27 (7-9) Basilica of Mushabbak, near Aleppo, Syria, Early Christian, c. 450 (Lect.) Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, Byzantine, 526-547. (7-26-27) * Hagia Sophia, Anthemios and Isidorus, Istanbul, Turkey, Byzantine, 532-537 (7-22-24) Basilica of San Marco, Venice, Italy, Byzantine, begun 1063 (7-39) Abbey Gatehouse, Lorsch, Germany, Carolingian, c. 817 Palace Chapel of Charlemagne, Aachen, Germany, Carolingian, 792-805 (14-12) * Monastery of St. Gall, Switzerland, Carolingian, c. 817 (14-13-14) * Abbey Church of Sainte-Foy, Conques, France, mid-11th-12th century, Romanesque (15-4) Abbey of Notre-Dame, Fontenay, France, Romanesque, 1139-47. (15-6, 15-7) * Last Judgement Portal, Gislebertus, Cathedral of Saint-Lazare, Autun, France, Romanesque, 1120-35. (15-12, 15-13) Abbey Church St.-Pierre, Cluny, France, Romanesque, c. 1088-1130. (15-5) Abbey Church of St. Etienne, Caen, France, Romanesque, begun c. 1067-87 (15-26-28) Cathedral of Durham, Durham, England. 1093-1133 CE. (15-24-25) * Pisa Cathedral complex, Pisa, Italy. Romanesque, begun 1063 (15-40) Terminology

aisle ambulatory apse atrium banded barrel vault basilica-plan church buttress central-plan church

cloister martyrium monastery narthex nave pendentives podium reliquary

revetment rib vault squinch tholos trasept typanum westwork

Bibliography Kennedy, Hugh. Crusader Castles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Krautheimer, Richard. Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture. New York: Viking/Penguin,

1986. Kubach, Hans Erich. Romanseque Architecture. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1975. Mainstone, R.J. Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure and Liturgy of Justinian’s Great Church.

London: Thames & Hudson, 1988. Mango, Cyril A. Byzantine Architecture. New York: Electa/Rizzoli, 1985. Petzold, Andreas. Romanesque Art. New York: Abrams Perspectives, 1995. Radding, Charles M. and William W. Clark. Medieval Architecture, Medieval Learning:

Builders and Masters in the Age of Romanesque and Gothic. New Haven: Yale University

Press, 1992. Salvador, Mario. “Hagia Sophia” in Why Buildings Stand Up. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980

[chapter 14, pp. 246-259].

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Week 11 Islamic Architecture Introduction The geographic setting: arid climatic zones of the Middle East, North Africa, Southern Spain, Turkey, and Northern India, necessitating an architecture of mud-brick courtyard buildings. Cultural context: Desert context fosters reverence for the sky and view of the earth as hot, dry, barren, and hostile. Extreme logos-orientation focusing on the mystique of numbers, geometry, and the word (calligraphy, poetry, the Koran, etc.). Traditionally nomadic, sheep-herding cultures until very recently. Islamic culture arose out of the teachings of the prophet Mohammed (570-632) in the 7th century which succeeded in uniting the fiercely independent desert peoples of Arabia. The sacred text of Islam, the Koran, was received and written down by Mohammed. In 622 CE, Mohammed fled from Mecca to Medina to escape persection; this hegira marks year one of the Muslim (lunar) calendar. As taught by Mohammed and his followers, there are Five Pillars of Islam: submission to Allah, praying five times daily facing Mecca, giving alms to the poor, observing the annual fast of Ramadan, and at least one pilgrimage toe Mecca in one’s lifetime (the Hajj). In Mecca (in modern Saudi Arabia), pilgrims visit the central sanctuary of the Kaaba which contains a meteorite said to have been part of Abraham’s temple. After Mohammed’s death Islam spread in the following centuries throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East, leading to such structures as the Alhambra palace in Spain and the Taj Mahal tomb in distant India. The Masjid-i-Jami (Friday Mosque) and Masjid-i-Shah (Mosque of the Shah) in Isfahan, Iran, exemplify many precepts of Islamic architecture. The art and architecture of Islam are designated by many regional names, disparate spellings, including Mohammedan, Saracen, Moslem, Mongol, Mogl, Mughal, Muslim. Islamic Architectural Characteristics • Mud brick construction with pointed arches, domes, and barrel vaults with colorful ceramic

tile ornamentation or varied stone inlays and mosaics and elaborate plaster work (sometimes called stalactite); elaborate use of muquarnas (corbeled squinches) which are often load-bearing, supporting domes with intricately faceted surfaces

• Elaborate architectural ornamentation and proportioning is often based on rigorously calculated geometries

• Walled, courtyard houses and public buildings in irregular towns with meandering streets • Emphasis on 2 axes: l) vertical axis to Allah expressed in vertically attenuated domes on squinches, minarets,

pointed arches, etc. 2) horizontal axis to Mecca expressed in orientation of mosques and tombs and the

location of domes and qiblas (or mihrabs) in mosques • Garden with pools and fountains as an image of paradise

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• Use of iwans (large rectangular, barrel-vaulted halls with monumental arched openings) prominent in eastern Islamic world

• representational art forbidden for theological reasons (Persian miniatures notwithstanding); ornament takes the form of calligraphic names of Allah and passages from the Koran, intricate geometric designs, and plant life

• building types include mosques, tombs, courtyard houses, caravanserai (inns), bazaars, walled gardens, Turkish baths, forts

Important Buildings & Artifacts Palace of Shapur I, Ctesiphon, Iraq. A.D. 3rd-6th cent. (Lect.) * Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, Israel, 687-91 (8-2, 8-3) Spiral Minaret, Great Mosque of al-Mutawakkil, Samarra, Iraq. 847-52 Great Mosque, Cordoba, Spain. 785-86 CE. (8-6, p 345) * The Alhambra, Granada, Spain, completed 1380 (8-11, 8-12) * Masjid-i-Jami (Friday Mosque), Isfahan, Iran. 11-18th cent. (8-12) * Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 1632-48 (20-1, 20-7) Terminology iwan masjid minaret mihrab muqarnas ogival arch qibla squinch Bibliography Ardalan, Nader and Laleh Bakhtiar. The Sense of Unity: The Sufi Tradition in Persian

Architecture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973. Ettinghausen, Richard. Art and Architecture of Islam, 650-1250. New York: Viking Penguin,

1987. Hoag, John P. Islamic Architecture. New York: Abrams, 1977. Michell, George. Architecture of the Islamic World. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1978. Seherr-Thoss, Sonia P. and Hans C. Design and Color in Islamic Architecture. Washington:

Smithsonian Institution Press, 1968. Vogt-Gö knil, Ulya. Living Architecture: Ottoman. New YorkL Grosset & Dunlap, 1966. Volwahsen, Andre. Living Architecture: Islamic Indian. New York: Grosset & Dunlap [?].

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WEEK 12 Gothic Architecture Introduction Geographic setting: the Ile de France and later the ring of cathedral towns around Paris, spreading across Europe to norther and central France and England, norther Spain, Germany, and Italy and occasionally “exported” to the East in the wake of the Crusades. Cultural Setting in Europe, 12-14th centuries: consolidation of European proto-states and kingdoms results in a new sense of security. Evenutally, populations move out of the old monastic centers into medieval towns, many of which enjoyed economic prosperity. The kingdom of France emerges as the cultural, and especially the architectural, leader of the western world. Growth of artisan guilds and a merchant class brings new artistic expression and wealth. Crystallization of a confident new vision of the relation of God and humanity is expressed in the stone, glass, light, geometry, and sculpture of the cathedrals. Initial enthusiasm for the Crusades is followed by disillusionment and renewed conentration of energies at home--the great Gothic building effort has been called the “Cathedral Crusade.” This period also sees the rise of the “Cult of the Virgin,” a growing adoration of the Virgin Mary, the “Nôtre Dame” to whom most of the Gothic cathedrals were dedicated. The Gothic style developed in France in the 12th century under Abbot Suger at St. Denis near Paris and resulted from his innovation and symbolic aspirations as well as a cross-fertilization of established and evolving architectural ideas—especially as brought back from Islam by the crusaders. The new architecture was born of light and air and an ever more sophisticated manipulation of the pointed arch. The Gothic was rapidly diffused across Europe through craftsman, pilgrims, monastic networks, and trade; it became known as an “international style.” At no other time in history has architecture been so dominant a force in the world of art and the larger culture. In the emergence of Gothic architecture, the west obtained a second principal strain of architecture that has survived through periodic revived expression in nearly equal contest with the classical style of Greece and Rome.

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Gothic Architectural Characteristics • Architectural activity centers on the urban cathedrals which are the era’s monumental

building projects, often taking more than a century to complete • Stylistic coherence (derived from French Gothic), exists, but regional variations are evident,

especially in England (vertical emphasis) and Italy (Easter influence) • Structural innovations include pointed arch, ribbed vault (fireproof), and flying buttress

(allowed walls to be infilled with stained glass); constant experimentation with structural systems and materials, often pushing buildings to brink of collapse

• Desire for light (size of windows) and height (of vaults) imbued with sacred significance • Frankly expressed stone building skeleton; stonework is precisely cut • Symbolic formal cross-shaped plan with geometric proportioning of building elements;

numerical symbolism also present in designing building elements; certain proportional schemes derived from Islamic architecture, brought to the west by returning crusaders

• Exterior features sculpture across façade, especially at main and side portals, serving didactic purpose: illustrating Biblical figures, stories, themes, and symbols for an illiterate public

Important Buildings and Artifacts * Abbey Church of St. Denis, Paris, France. 1140-44 CE. (16-3-5) Nôtre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France. 1163-1250 CE. (16-22) * Nôtre Dame de Chartres, Chartres, France. 1194-1260 CE. (16-2-15, p.568) Villard de Honnecourt, Sketchbooks, 1220-35 (16-31) Nôtre Dame de Reims, Reims, France. 1225-1299 CE. (16-23-27) Nôtre Dame de Amiens, Amiens, France. Begun 1220-88 CE. (16-21) Ste.-Chapelle interior, Paris, France. 1243-48 CE. (16-28) * Salisbury Cathedral, Salisbury, England. 1220-1270 CE. (16-36-38) Terminology ambulatory apse arcade chevet choir clerestory colonettes

compound pier flying buttress groin vault narthex nave pointed arch rib vault

stringcourse tracery transept trefoil, quatrefoil, multifoil triforium

Bibliography Andrews, Francis. The Mediaeval Builder and His Methods. New York: Barnes & Noble,

1993. Branner, Robert. Gothic Architecture. New York: George Braziller, 1965. Grodecki, Louis. Gothic Architecture. New York: Electa/Rizzoli, 1985. Mark, Robert. Light, Wind, Structure: The Mystery of the Master Builders. Cambridge: MIT

Press, 1994. Wilson, Christopher. The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church, 1130-

1530. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1990.