Course detail
Ancient and Classical Art History Overview
FaVU-1DUPS-ZAcad. year: 2023/2024
The course content focuses on the birth of human creativity in the context of human evolution. Particular attention is paid to the development, description and interpretation of prehistoric art, focusing on specific artistic expressions in the Early Paleolithic, in the context of their discoveries and current knowledge, and attention is also paid to material technology. Against the background of the political, economic, social and cultural history of the earliest pre-Eastern and European civilizations, the course examines the most important artistic expressions, including the origins of writing, religion, mythology and socio-political contexts.
Language of instruction
Number of ECTS credits
Guarantor
Entry knowledge
Rules for evaluation and completion of the course
Written test.
Attendance compulsory (50%).
Aims
The aim of the course is to provide a basic overview of the prehistoric and ancient epochs of art history and architectural development, to appreciate their contribution, to learn about the various developmental stages of the earliest history of mankind, their common features and specifics, to understand how a work of art is created, who influences its form and subject matter, and how its function and content may change over time.
Students will gain knowledge of ancient and classical art, and will become aware of the anthropological aspects of the origins of art, and gain a foundation for the study of other art history survey courses.
Study aids
Prerequisites and corequisites
Basic literature
Hans Belting, Antropologie obrazu. Návrhy vědy o obrazu. Brno, 2022.
John Boardman, Řecké umění, Praha, 1975.
Bouzek, J., Kratochvíl, Z., Od mýtu k logu. Praha, Herman & synové, 1994.
Bouzek, J., Kratochvíl, Z., Řeč umění a archaické filosofie. Praha, Herman & synové, 1995.
Recommended reading
Type of course unit
Lecture
Teacher / Lecturer
Syllabus
- Paleolithic in Western Europe and the Czech lands, the birth of human creativity and the interpretation of prehistoric art.
- Neolithic culture in Asia Minor, Europe and the Czech Republic, development of settlements and dwellings, the beginnings of architecture.
- Architecture and art of Mesopotamia in Sumerian, Akkadian and Babylonian times.
- Art and culture of ancient Egypt.
- Minoan and Mycenaean culture in the light of archaeological findings.
- Architecture (basic typology) and art of ancient Greece.
- Sculpture and artistic craftsmanship in ancient Greece, the search for the ideal of human beauty and its recurrent returns throughout history, the first attempts to define aesthetic concepts.
-Hellenism and the expansion of Greek culture at the time of Alexander the Great.
- The Pergamene altar.
- The art of the Etruscans and the contribution of the Romans to the history of sculpture and painting.
- Roman architecture, Pompeii, Herculaneum and Johann Joachim Winckelmann.
- The period of the "Migration of Nations" and the formation of "barbarian" kingdoms at the transition between antiquity and the Middle Ages.