Art in the story Topic 8.

Pre-Hispanic Culture
Explanation:
8.1 Archaic Era
Archaic Era is usually referred to the time in every culture in which they started
leaving their nomadic ways and begin to being sedentary.
This is attributed to the end of the Ice Age and, by that, the disappearance of
big animals, such as the mammoth.
Native American populations increased at least five-fold over Paleoindian times.
The end of the Ice Age changed the weather, new animals and plants
appeared, and the developing of agriculture started (Celia, 2009).
The Archaic era started at the 10 000 B.C. and ended at 4 000 B.C. (however, it
depends a lot of the place, because in other areas ended in a different time. In
Mesoamerica, different sources said it ended near 2 500 B.C.).
The Archaic period in the region of Manitoba, (in Canada), is one that marked a
development creating technologies, are the bladed projectile points, attached
to a stick that was meant to be thrown. Other tools in this time were made with
stone, like axes.
The changing weather made the native people from Manitoba change their
food habits, eating new things such as wolf, deer, rabbit and cherries.
They had a system or ritual to bury people, so it can be assumed they got
religious beliefs.
Tepexpan man, discovered by Helmut de Terra. It is a skeleton that, believed at
first to be 10 000 years old, because it was discovered near a mammoth of that
age. Then, it was revealed that the bones were only 2 000 years old (Planet
Earth, 2009). In a curious note, after some investigations, scientifics concluded
that Tepexpan man was not a man, but a woman.

Tepexpan man
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The agriculture was a process very important at this point.
In Mesoamerica, experiments involved corn, beans and squash.
One of the most important plants in Latin American culture, is believed that
was used in Oaxaca since 7 500 B.C., in Tehuacan since 5 000 B.C. and in
Tamaulipas in 3 000 B.C.
 The varieties of squash or pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo, mixed, moschata)
appeared in different times; pepper, avocado, amaranth, mesquite,
cactus, agave and nuts too.
 The Andean Area specialized in potatoes near the 3,500 B.C.
 In Ayacucho, Peru, appeared the Quinoa in the 4,500 B.C.
The cañihua (also called the qañiwa or qañawa), the pumpkin also
appeared in the Andean area. In this area, the domestication of some
animals gained importance, such as the llama and the guinea pig.
 In the Amazon and Orinoco basin, people experimented with cassava.
8.2 Preclassic Era

The Olmec culture developed before 1 200 B.C. (experts believe that may be in
1 500 B.C.) and ended around 400 B.C.
The Olmec civilization presents something of a mystery.
“Olmec” was their Aztec name and meant “rubber people”. Due to a lack of
archaeological evidence their ethnic origins and the location are not known.
The Olmecs codify and record their gods and religious practices using symbols
(Cartwright, 2013).

Olmec Civilization Map

There were important centers of prosperity in which they grown corn and
beans. Some of them were San Lorenzo, La Venta, Tres Zapotes and Las Limas.
San Lorenzo flourished between 1 200 and 900 B.C., trading obsidian, jade,
rubber, pottery, and feathers, among other things. It is believed that at some
point approximately 18 000 people lived there.
The sites of San Lorenzo, La Venta and Laguna de los Cerros had a similar
symmetric planning.
Olmecs were very organized and planned their cities in order to create balance
and proportion. It was in La Venta were the very first pyramid from
Mesoamerica was constructed. The precision of the buildings is impressive:
At La Venta, the buildings are placed symmetrically along a north-south axis
with four colossal heads facing outwards at key points, seemingly acting as
guardians to the complex. A huge ceremonial step pyramid (now a shapeless
mound), a sunken plaza once lined with 2 meter high basalt columns, and two
smaller pyramids/mounds provide features that would be copied time and
again at the major sites of later Mesoamerican cultures with whom equal
attention was paid to the precise alignment of buildings (Cartwright, 2013).
Regarding religion, Olmec culture had a strong connection with nature, relating
those things with their beliefs; their deities were represented in things such as
rain or maize.
Animals were very important for their culture, like the jaguar (there are many
sculptures called were-Jaguar representing a mix of a man and a jaguar, it is
believed to be their supreme deity), eagles, snakes and caimans. Archaeologist
Peter Joralemon (quoted by Minster, 2014) identified eight different kind of
gods in the Olmec civilization: the Olmec Dragon, the Bird Monster, the Fish
Monster, the Banded-eye God, the Maize God, the Water God, the were-Jaguar
and the Feathered Serpent (Minster, 2014):

The art of the Olmec culture is one of the most important from the
Precolumbian period, the most known works are the colossal stone heads.
According to Cartwright, those were carved in basalt and have unique features,
they may represents governors or rulers from the Olmec People. Some
measure nearly 3 m high and weight 8 tons. The stones in were they worked
this pieces were taken from places far away, transported in balsas. The person
represented used a helmet almost every time and could be portrayed with
jaguar paws.

Maybe you are questioning yourself why they carved only the head. According
to Cartwright (2013): “The fact that these giant sculptures depict only the head
may be explained by the belief in Mesoamerican culture that it was the head
alone which bore the soul.”
Olmec Sculpture
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Carving in rocks and paintings in the entrances of caves also were are found in
the Olmec culture, depicting rulers like at Oxtotitlan or Chalcatzingo, were they
are depicted in a green bird suit and in a throne with a maize landscape,
respectively. Basalt was not the only material used, because there were also
things made by jade, ceramic and wood (Carwright, 2013).
One of the most important discoveries in the Olmec art is the Kunz Axe. It is
described by the American Museum of Natural History (2014) as a figure that
looks like a beast and a human, named like that in honor of George Frederick
Kunz, an expert in minerals and worker at Tiffany that was the owner of the
figure. The mouth of the Kunz Axe looks like a jaguar with eyes shaped like
almonds, it is believed that the figure represents somebody who transform
himself into a jaguar.
Kunz Axe
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Some of the most important things that Olmec culture left is his legacy,
because they were influential to other civilizations, such as Maya and Aztecs.
There is another mystery around the Olmec civilization and there have been
many theories around about it. It is regarding at the end of their culture: Olmec
civilization just disappeared and nobody knows why.
Some people say that maybe a war forced them to leave. Other theories
involve a disease or a natural disaster caused by nature. Possibly the
civilization was growing too fast and they couldn’t afford enough food for
everyone and needed to leave and adapt to another place. Still, there are no
hard evidence that support any of this; maybe in the future somebody will
come with the answer.
8.3 Classic Era
Maestri (2014) says that the Classic period started in 200 A.C., where the
Teotihuacan valley was expanding and ended in 1 000 A.C., with the Terminal
Classic. The Postclassic Era started at 1 000 A.C. and ended at 1 521.
According to Washington State - Conevyt (2006), there are some general
characteristics from this period:
Evolution in the forms of writing
Monte Albán, flourished during the Classic period. Zapotec culture “followed
the Maya practices of erecting sculptures carved with hieroglyphic texts
extolling the military exploits of their rulers” (Foster, 1997).
This period was the height of the Maya civilization in which they perfected
mathematics, astronomy, architecture and the visual arts and also refined and
perfected the calendar. The oldest date recorded in this era is on Stele 29 in
the city of Tikal (292 CE) and the latest is from an inscription on the Stele at the
site of Tonina (909 CE). The city-states of the Mayan civilization stretched from
Piste in the north all the way down to modern-day Honduras (Mark, 2012).
Mayans also created a very specific and concrete mathematic system that
allowed people to trade and commerce. Maya was one of the fewest civilization
that used the zero; their system consisted in three symbols: a shell that
represented the zero, a dot that represented the one and a line or a bar that
represented five.
Mayan positional number system
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How does that work? Well, the system of the Mayan was based in units of 20.
To represent a 3, people draw 3 dots in a row. For a number like 6, it was a bar
representing 5 and on top of the bar, a dot representing 1. To represent 19
people would draw 3 bars (15) and 4 dots (4).
Some of the special numbers for the Mayans were the 20, which represents
fingers and toes of a person; number 13, the sacred number for the Mayan
gods and 52, a number of years that were cyclical according to the Mayans
(Musée Canadien de L’Histoire, 2014).
Mayan calendar was structured by cycles. One cycle was called Haab, and it
consisted in 365 days, making it a very precise calendar. In the Haab they got a
calendar of 19 months, 18 of them of 20 days and one of 5 days. (National
Museum of the American Indian. Smithsonian Latino Center, 2014).
Mayan Calendar
Image retrieved from http://vesnasantak138.blogspot.mx/ y
http://sobrehistoria.com/sistema-de-numeracion-maya-y-numeros-mayas/
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During the Postclassic Era flourished the Aztecs, also called Mexicas. According
to the legend, they emigrated in order to find a place to live (Vázquez, 2000).
Near the Lake Texcoco, they found an eagle eating a snake, as portrayed in the
coat of arms of Mexico. They founded here one of the largest cities in the world
at the time: Tenochtitlan (Foster, 1997).
On the other side, in Oaxaca, the Mixtecs flourished in the late post classic
period. They were forced by Aztecs to pay tribute. One of the important things
from the Mixtec culture is the multicolored pottery.

Mixtec pottery
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On the other side, is the Huastec culture, placed in Tampico: “In and around the
city there are still many remnants of the ancient towns built on the shores of
the lagoons and rivers like the Pánuco and the Tamesí” (Sosa, n.d.).
Other important cultures were the Totonac people (residing now in Veracruz),
Totltec (in Hidalgo), Tarascos (Colima), Huicholes (Nayarit), Tlaxcaltecas
(Coahuila), Tecuexes (Jalisco) and Purepecha (Guerrero) among many others.
To know more about Pre-Hispanic cultures, visit the Khan Academy webpage:

Conclusion:
Pre-Hispanic cultures discovered many important things that are still working
actively in the current world. Like a very precise calendar and the zero. These
cultures show a new form of look at the world, and you can acknowledge how
there context created an impact in their civilization (as using a jaguar for
inspiration of a god). As a Mexican, you have to know and understand your
culture for investigate, approach it and enjoy it.
Topic 10. Baroque
Introduction

Maybe in the description of a building, or when someone looks at something

very detailed, the term baroque brought your attention. At the beginning, this
word was used in a pejorative way. Something very detailed was not the focus
of the paintings from this era, so, artworks with those characteristics used to be
called that way. A baroque pearl or gem was an irregular one, usually meaning
something out of proportion or without balance. Something that started like an
insult evolved and influenced a complete period.
There are not specific dates, but it is considered that the Baroque started and
was developed in the 16th century and ended at the beginning of the 17th
century, but it varies depending on the country. As you can remember, one of
the characteristics of the Renaissance we talk about was anthropocentrism, the
idea that everything revolves around the human being, which leads to
philosophical and ideological movements such as Humanism.
Click to see an example.
The movements of the Reformation (1517) and Counter-Reformation
(1545)
According to Jackson (2014), the Catholic Church was very powerful in the 16th
century, but also very corrupt. Martin Luther, a catholic priest, started
questioning the Catholic Church about the idea of the indulgences, in which
normal people paid money to the Church to obtain the forgiveness for their
sins, the money obtained were supposed to be for rebuilding the St. Peter’s
Basilica in Rome. Because of that, a new church was created: Protestantism,
which protested against the luxury of the Catholic Church. The answer from the
Catholic Church was the Counter-Reformation, a movement that intended to
stop the Protestant Church, and banned the selling of indulgences. In addition,
in England, in 1534, King Henry VIII, wanting the divorce from his wife, created
the Church of England.
Political movements
The absolute monarchy was in vogue. “The 17th century is known as the Age of
Absolutism because of certain rulers who tried to exercise absolute power over
their countries. According to the principle of divine right of kings, rulers derived
their authority directly from God” (Schneider, 2007).
Science
As explained by Schneider (2007), even when religious tension was about to
explode and many people were being accused from heresy and witchcraft,
science was a gaining force, because scientists started observing that natural
phenomenon could be predictable. Nicolaus Copernicus said that the sun was
the center of the universe and not the earth, Johan Kepler confirmed that the
planets revolve around the sun in elliptical movements and Galileo Galilei
conducted an experiment on gravity that proved that all bodies fall at the same
speed. All of these scientific advances contradicted a lot of the thinking of the
Catholic Church, so they censored and made Galileo declare that he was
wrong. There, he said (but it has never been confirmed) one of the most
famous phrases upon history: Eppur si muove, (English: And yet, it moves),
meaning that, even if Church believes something, there was evidence that
could support what he had said.
Galileo Galilei
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Before looking at some direct examples of the Baroque period, look at the
following characteristics (McKay & McKay 2010; Sullivan 1994):
 It reacts against the Renaissance.
 • The images depicted are direct and obvious (there are less space for
allegories or metaphors, although sometimes allegories are used, like in
Vermeer’s The Art of Painting).
 Everything is exaggerated and with a lot of ornamentation.
 The characters portrayed seem to be like in the middle of an action:
usually, images transmit a sense of movement.
 The viewer is invited to participate in the scene. Sometimes characters
are looking directly to the spectator.
 The emotions portrayed are intense.
 The settings are extravagant.
 The artists do not search for the balance or equilibrium in their works.
 The use of contrast with dark and light is very popular.
 People portrayed seem to be real, not only perfect models with idealized
beauty.
 In Baroque art, figures inundate the work of art, forcing the spectator to
look at different points.
  Religious scenes were intense, for example, miracles or scenes of
ecstasies. There are paintings of Jesus being punished and Saint Peter’s
crucifixion.
 Psychology was important in this movement, characters seem to be
affected by what is happening in the work of art.
This is the opposite from Renaissance, so it doesn’t include anything that
looked like that movement. From clarity and illuminated tone to dark images.
Explanation:
10.1 Architecture
Some of the most intriguing architects of the time were Francesco Borromini,
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (we are going to feature some of his sculptures later in
this topic) and Guarino Guarini. Let’s examine an architectonic piece of each
one.
Click to see an example.

San Carlo alle Quatro Fontane by Francesco Borromin

According to the Saylor Foundation Academy (2014), this was the first
commission from Borromini. It was shaped like a mixture of a cross, a rectangle
and an oval, creating a strange form but also could be used to have a central-
plan and a basilica. The interior is both traditional and innovative. Its walls, for
example, are adorned with classical columns, but they curve around in a way
that suggests movement, an effect that was progressive on that time. Likewise,
the facade includes elements of classical architecture and applies them in a
new and innovative way. There is the idea of movement that we would see a lot
in the Baroque period.
San Carlo Alle Quattro Fontane
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Piazza of St. Peter by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

The description of this piazza is simply overwhelming:
Bernini conceived the piazza as an enormous oval framed by two colonnades of
284 columns and 88 pillars in four rows. Topped by an entablature with 140
statues of saints, the curved colonnades embrace a 650-foot-long oval like the
motherly arms of the church, as Bernini said (Buffalo Architecture and History,
2002).
The open space would also function for the people that would go to see the
Pope: there is a lot of space there, in order to listen to the mass and receive the
official blessing, according to Norwich (2013).
Piazza of St. Peter
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Palazzo Carignano - Guarino Guarini

This palazzo is located in Turin, Italy. It is a museum nowadays, but it was
originally the house of the Carignano family. The facade is very original, built in
a curvilinear way and an elliptical central body, as described by Visita Torino
(2013):
From the vestibule, two curvilinear staircases lead to the noble floor, where the
party room was situated and transformed into the Sub Alpine Parliament in
1848. The palace was doubled in size from the interior side with the creation of
the 19th century wing by Giuseppe Bollati on a drawing by Gaetano Ferri
(1864-1871), with a heavy facade towards piazza Carlo Alberto, lying behind.

Palazzo Carignano.
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10.2 Painting
A characteristic especially important in painting is that there is no central figure
to look at. For example, in The School of Athens by Raphael, look at the figures
in the middle and you can identify them as Plato and Aristotle almost
immediately. For their positions, they stand out of the picture. Something
similar happens at The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci: the central figure is
the most important: Jesus Christ. The lines in the painting point at Jesus,
making him the focal point. However, in Baroque paintings, it does not exist
that dynamic: any particular point captures the attention and that was one of
the goals of the artist, fill with details that overwhelm and amaze. Look at some
of the most important examples from various painters from the era to identify
these characteristics.
The Maids of Honour by Diego Velázquez (Las Meninas).
Diego Velázquez was a Spanish painter (the official one for the court) who used
a lot of psychological games in his paintings, involving the spectator to be part
of his art. In this painting, you can see a scene from the court, there is a
princess, her maids of honor, the king and the queen, a lady dwarf, a dog and
Diego Velázquez himself painting something (but you can’t see what it is).
Velázquez, in the painting, is looking right to the front, as if he were painting
the viewer: but looking at the composition, you could assume he is portraying
the king and queen that appear reflected in a mirror. Surrounding the room, at
the walls, there are also some paintings. Light is coming from the back (there is
an open door, with a man, identified as José de Nieto, leaving), but also from
the right side of the painting. Although the princess is the focal point, there are
many things to look at. According to Rivera (2014), the painting can have three
different centers: “La Infanta at the center of the foreground, the vanishing
point right above Nieto’s elbow [...] and the mirror (as a compositional device).
Depending on which center the viewer chooses to focus, views on the
Monarchs’ presence shift” (Rivera, 2014). The Maids of Honour is a complex
painting that can be viewed in different perspectives, perfect to summarize the
goals of the Baroque style”.
The Maids of Honour by Diego Velázquez
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The Crucifixion of St. Peter by Caravaggio.
In 1601 Caravaggio painted The Crucifixion of St. Peter for the church of Santa
Maria del Popolo. The position of the characters in the painting is quite strange,
with movements that you have not seen before. “Three shady characters, their
faces hidden or turned away, are pulling, dragging and pushing the cross to
which Peter has been nailed by the feet with his head down” (Boston College,
2014). According to the Christian tradition, Saint Peter was crucified but he
decided to not being crucified like his master Jesus, but with his head down to
the earth. The only face that you can see in the painting is the one of Peter: his
facial expressions show the suffering and agony of the moment. Peter is not
portrayed as a heroic character: he is just a human being in constant pain.
It is important to note that Caravaggio used a technique called tenebrism, that
is, the use of extreme contrasts of light and dark in figurative compositions to
heighten their dramatic effect; the term comes from the Latin tenebrae,
darkness. In tenebrist paintings the figures are often portrayed against a
background of intense darkness, but the figures themselves are illuminated by
a bright, searching light that sets off their three-dimensional forms by a harsh
but exquisitely controlled chiaroscuro (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2014).
“The Crucifixion of St. Peter” by Caravaggio
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The Art of Painting by Johannes Vermeer.
Just as the painting of Velázquez, in this one you can find Vermeer painting a
model. In this case, you can’t see Vermeer’s face, only the model, her eyes
looking down. There are a lot of details in this painting that could symbolize
something else: the girl in the painting it is believed to be the muse Clio, the
patron of History. There is also a map and a chandelier: “Vermeer may have
wished to indicate that the artist, through his awareness of history and his
ability to paint elevated subjects, brought fame to his native city and country”
(National Gallery of Art, 2014). Without looking at the context of Vermeer, you
would never guess the meaning of that map and the chandelier.
The Art of Painting by Johannes Vermeer
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To know more about paintings in the Baroque period, watch the following video:

KHANACADEMY. (2016). Baroque and Rococo. [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history-basics/Art-1010/v/
baroque-rococo-introduction
10.3 Sculpture
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was one of the most influential sculptors from the
Baroque period. His sculptures are vivid, intense and all of their characters
show strength and movement. Let’s talk about some of his sculptures.
Pluto and Proserpina (Rape of Persephone, 1622).
This sculpture represents the moment when the god Pluto takes Proserpina to
the underworld. It depicts Pluto holding Proserpina while she tries to escape. It
is an impressive, very detailed sculpture, 89 inches high. For example, Pluto is
grabbing the leg of Proserpina and the spectator can look the way his hand is
digging in her flesh. Proserpina’s hand is pushing Pluto’s head, and you can see
his reaction. “Bernini creates erotic tension between Pluto and Proserpina by a
combination of pose and gesture characteristic of Baroque style. Although
Proserpina struggles against Pluto, she also turns toward him” (Schneider,
2007).

Pluto and Proserpina by Bernini.

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David (1623).
There is another David’s sculpture, this time from the Baroque period.
According to Khan Academy (2012), this sculpture “uses the space around it—
reaching out into the space of the viewer. Bernini's David is not content—the
way Michelangelo's is—to remain separated from us. [...] we immediately start
to feel what David is feeling”. There is some kind of energy that allows us to
understand and comprehend what is happening. Characters are not far from
the spectator and they are not perfect, but dealing with real struggles. David is
in tension, looking at the right moment to attack Goliath.
David by Bernini
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Ecstasy of St. Teresa (1647). A very intense sculpture where facial
expressions and position of the characters are fundamental. It is located in the
Cornaro Chapel, in Rome. The origin of this sculpture is a religious scene where
Saint Teresa’s heart is inflicted with a sword, making Saint Teresa to achieve a
spiritual moment of ecstasy. In the sculpture, the angel is carrying an arrow and
Saint Teresa is depicted with her eyes closed, concentrated in their own
spiritual moment. At the top of the sculpture there are some rays of light, like if
God himself is illuminating the scene. “The combined effect is one of intense
drama, the ethereality of which denies the true nature of the work of art.
Despite being made of heavy marble, saint and angel—set upon a cloud—
appear to float weightlessly” (Sullivan, 2014).
Ecstasy of St. Teresa by Bernini
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Conclusion:
The Baroque period, in all of its complexity and detailed way of being, is
fascinating to look at. There are many different points of view that you can
assume and, depending on your position, art would tell you a lot of things. I
used the term “tell”, because artworks in this period are so fascinating that
they seem to have a conversation with the spectator. That is what art should be
about, a talk where everyone can say their thoughts and opinions.
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