History of Western Art ① – From Gods to Humans: From Antiquity to the Renaissance
The Face of God that Dominated Form: Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (4000 BC–)
The origins of Western art lie in attempts to visualise the authority of the gods and the concept of eternity. Ancient Egyptian art was a world where functionality for the afterlife was combined with formalised geometric beauty. Notable works include Tutankhamun’s golden mask, the bust of Nefertiti, and the temples of Luxor adorned with murals. Although these were created by anonymous artisans, they demonstrate the characteristics of an era in which system and order took precedence over individual artists.
In the Mesopotamian region, remnants such as the Lamassu statues, the Standard of Ur, and the ziggurat wall reliefs remain; these too were intended to visualise the union of divine and royal authority and the concept of perpetual rule. During this period, the concept of the ‘artist’ did not yet exist, and art was regarded as a functional and symbolic visual language.
Sculptures of the human form aspiring to the ideal: the aesthetic revolution of Ancient Greece (1100–146 BC)
In the 5th century BC, Ancient Greece sought reason, harmony, and the ideal human form through art. Based on his treatise *Canon*, which presented the golden ratio of the human body, Polykleitos created *The Doryphoros* (The Spear-Bearer), visualising the philosophy that ‘perfect physical proportions are beauty itself’. This philosophy led to an artistic movement that emphasised the beauty of human proportions under the ideal of ‘kalos kagos’ (beauty is goodness).
Phidias, as the chief sculptor of the Parthenon in Athens, spread humanistic thought by depicting divine beings such as the statue of Zeus and the Parthenian Athena in a human form. In the late Classical period, emotional and supple female nude sculptures, such as Praxiteles’ Aphrodite of Cnidus, emerged. These demonstrate that Greek art had begun to embrace not only the idealised body but also emotion and sexual symbolism.
The Representation of Reality and Power: Ancient Roman Art (753 BC–476 AD)
Whilst inheriting the Greek style, Roman art emphasised realism and the display of power, focusing on clearer political objectives and realistic expression. Roman portrait sculpture meticulously depicted ageing, scars and stern expressions, serving to emphasise the individual’s authority and historical significance. Notable examples include the bust of Emperor Trajan, the statue of Augustus at the Porta Prima and the statue of Hadrian.
In the field of architecture, the Column of Trajan, the Arch of Titus and the Colosseum are representative examples; these were spaces that visually embodied the Roman Empire’s narrative of conquest, technical prowess and administrative order. During this period, too, production was collective in nature, centred on architects and supervisors rather than individual artists.
Medieval Christian Art: Blooming from the Darkness of Faith (3rd–12th Centuries)
As the Christian worldview came to the forefront of art, medieval Christian art became a ‘substitute for sacred texts’, conveying divine revelation. Byzantine art, which emerged during this period, focused on religious expression, with works produced on the basis of strict ecclesiastical theology. Among the most famous works of Byzantine art are the Mosaics of San Vitale and the icons depicting Christ, the Virgin Mary and saints surrounded by golden halos.
During the Romanesque period, although the names of the artists remain obscure, Gislebertus, a sculptor at the Cathedral of Autun in France, composed a message of salvation in a threatening yet epic manner through bold imagery, placing the Last Judgement at the centre of the composition.
Structures reaching towards the heavens: the Gothic era’s aspiration for ascension (12th–15th centuries)
Although the architects and decorative sculptors who designed the cathedrals of the Gothic era worked anonymously, their presence as conceptual artistic planners was distinct. The rose window of Chartres Cathedral and the Gothic arches of Notre-Dame Cathedral represented a structural theology that regarded light as the presence of God. Distinctive features include an architectural style emphasising vertical ascent, sculpture seeking realistic expression, and painting characterised by delicate and ornate decoration.
Sculpture began to depict human emotions more than ever before, and works such as the Sorrows of the Virgin and scenes of the Passion of Christ, created by anonymous sculptors, served as a turning point in interpreting divine suffering in human terms.
The Perspective of Reason and the Aesthetics of Anatomy: The Dawn of the Renaissance (14th–16th Centuries)
The Renaissance was a period that broke away from the order of the Middle Ages, centring on a worldview based on reason and humanism. This movement, which began in Florence in the late 14th century, was not merely a stylistic change but a comprehensive revolution in the way of thinking. Art was no longer merely a medium for conveying divine messages, but became an intellectual endeavour to explore and express the principles of the world.
In the early Renaissance, Brunelleschi opened up a pictorial perspective capable of mathematically reconstructing space through his work on the dome of Florence Cathedral and his theories of perspective. Masaccio is known as the ‘father of modern painting’ for introducing realistic human figures and depth of perspective into painting through works such as The Holy Trinity, The Paying of the Tax and The Expulsion of Adam and Eve. Botticelli created poetic paintings in which mythological narratives and Christian symbolism were interwoven, as seen in *The Birth of Venus* and *La Primavera*; it was during this period that the artist’s individuality began to emerge.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, considered the zenith of the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci demonstrated an integrated approach that unified science, art and philosophy, producing works such as the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and anatomical studies. Through his use of light, gradation and the depiction of inner psychology, he elevated painting to a mirror of the soul. Subsequently, Michelangelo simultaneously embodied the power of God and human suffering through the human form, leaving behind works such as the Statue of David, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, The Last Judgement, whilst Raphael, through works such as The School of Athens, The Ascension of Galatea and his series of Madonnas, perfected classical harmony, Christian ideals and the aesthetic balance of painting, thereby bringing Renaissance painting to its culmination.
Symbols and Reality in Northern Europe: The Northern Renaissance (15th–16th centuries)
Whilst the Italian Renaissance centred on the revival of classical art, the Northern Renaissance developed in Northern Europe, emphasising more realistic detail and symbolism. In the Northern Renaissance, Jan van Eyck combined hyper-realistic detail with symbolic codes in his *Portrait of the Arnolfini Couple* and the *Ghent Altarpiece*. As an innovator of oil painting, he maximised visual realism through the use of gloss, texture and reflected light. Hieronymus Bosch, in *The Garden of Earthly Delights*, depicted human nature and a sense of guilt through grotesque and surreal imagination, and is now regarded as a precursor to Surrealism.
