History of art

The history of art focuses on objects made by humans in visual form for aesthetic purposes. Visual art can be classified in diverse ways, such as separating fine arts from applied arts; inclusively focusing on human creativity; or focusing on different media such as architecture, sculpture, painting, film, photography, and graphic arts. In recent years, technological advances have led to video art, computer art, Performance art, animation, television, and videogames.Possibly the 'oldest known drawing by human hands', discovered in Blombos Cave in South Africa. Estimated to be 73,000 years old.Cave paintings from Lascaux caves (Montignac, Dordogne, France)Venus of Willendorf; c. 26,000 BCE (the Gravettian period); limestone with ocre coloring; Naturhistorisches Museum (Vienna, Austria)Bison Licking Insect Bite; 15,000–13,000 BCE; antler; National Museum of Prehistory (Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil, France)The Urfa Man; from modern-day Turkey; c. 9000 BCE; sandstone; height: 1.8 m; Şanlıurfa Archaeology and Mosaic Museum (Urfa, Turkey)Fragment of a bowl; by Halaf culture from Mesopotamia; 5600-5000 BC; cermaic; 8.2 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Globular jar; by Dimini culture from Greece; 5300-4800 BC; ceramic; height: 25 cm (9​3⁄4 in.), diameter at rim: 12 cm (4​3⁄4 in.); National Archaeological Museum (Athens)The Thinker; by Hamangia culture from Romania; c. 5000 BCE; terracotta; height: 11.5 cm (4​1⁄2 in.); National Museum of Romanian History (Bucharest)Female figure; by Vinča culture from Serbia; 4500-3500 BCE; fired clay with paint; overall: 16.1 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio, USA)Figurine of a bearded man; by the Naqada I culture from Egypt; 3800-3500 BC; breccia; from Upper Egypt; Musée des Confluences (Lyon, France)`Flame-style’ vessel; from the Jōmon period of Japan; circa 2750 BCE; earthenware with carved and applied decoration; height: 61 cm, diameter: 55.8 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio, USA)Dotted pottery pot, semi-mountain type; by the Yangshao culture from China; 2700–2300 BCE; Gansu Provincial Museum (Lanzhou; China)Standing male worshipper, one of the twelve statues in the Tell Asmar Hoard; 2900-2600 BC; gypsum alabaster, shell, black limestone and bitumen; 29.5 × 12.9 × 10 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtSumerian Statues of worshippers (males and females); 2800-2400 BC (Early Dynastic period); National Museum of Iraq (Baghdad)Bull's head ornament from a lyre; 2600-2350 BC; bronze inlaid with shell and lapis lazuli; height: 13.3 cm, width: 10.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtA Ram in a Thicket; 2600–2400 BCE; gold, copper, shell, lapis lazuli and limestone; height: 45.7 cm (1 ft 6 in.); British Museum (London)The Standard of Ur; 1600–1400 BCE (the Early Dynastic Period III); shell, red limestone and lapis lazuli on wood; height: 21.7 cm, length: 50.4 cm; discovered at the Royal Cemetery at Ur (Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq); British MuseumThe Statue of Ebih-Il; c. 2400 BCE; gypsum, schist, shells and lapis lazuli; height: 52.5 cm; Louvre (Paris)Seal of Hash-hamer, showing enthroned king Ur-Nammu, with modern impression; circa 2100 BC; greenstone; height: 5.3 cm; British Museum (London)Assyrian relief with a winged genie with bucket and cone; 713-706 BC; height: 3.3 m, width: 2.1 m; LouvreStele of Princess Nefertiabet eating; 2589–2566 BC; limestone & paint; height: 37.7 cm, length: 52.5 cm, depth: 8.3 cm; from Giza; Louvre (Paris)Pectoral and necklace of Princess Sithathoriunet; 1887–1813 BC; gold, carnelian, lapis lazuli, turquoise, garnet & feldspar; height of the pectoral: 4.5 cm (1​3⁄4 in.); Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Statuette of the lady Tiye; 1390-1349 BC; wood, carnelian, gold, glass, Egyptian blue and paint; height: 24 cm (9​7⁄8 in.); Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)The Mask of Tutankhamun; c. 1327 BCE; gold, glass and semi-precious stones; height: 54 cm ; Egyptian Museum (Cairo)The Nefertiti Bust; 1352–1332 BC; painted limestone; height: 50 cm; Neues Museum (Berlin, Germany)The entrance of the Great Temple of the Abu Simbel temples, founded in approximately 1264 BCEStela of Pepi, chief of the potters; 8th century BC; painted limestone; Hermitage (Sankt Petersburg, Russia)Illustration of various types of capitals, drawn by the egyptologist Karl Richard LepsiusWhen I first saw them I found it difficult to believe that they were prehistoric; they seemed to completely upset all established ideas about early art, and culture. Modeling such as this was unknown in the ancient world up to the Hellenistic age of Greece, and I thought, therefore, that some mistake must surely have been made; that these figures had found their way into levels some 3000 years older than those to which they properly belonged ... Now, in these statuettes, it is just this anatomical truth which is so startling; that makes us wonder whether, in this all-important matter, Greek artistry could possibly have been anticipated by the sculptors of a far-off age on the banks of the Indus.Ceremonial vessel; 2600-2450 BCE; terracotta with black paint; 49.53 × 25.4 cm; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (USA)The Priest-King; 2400–1900 BCE; low fired steatite; height: 17.5 cm; National Museum of Pakistan (Karachi)Stamp seals, some of them with Indus script; probably made of steatite; British Museum (London)Male dancing torso; 2400-1900 BCE; limestone; height: 9.9 cm; National Museum (New Delhi, India)Standing statue of a king and shaman leader; c. 1200–1000 BCE; probably bronze; total height: 2.62 m; Sanxingdui Museum (Guanghan, Sichuan province, China)Houmuwu ding, the largest ancient bronze ever found; 1300–1046 BCE; bronze; National Museum of China (Beijing)Altar set; late 11th century BCE; bronze; overall (table): height: 18.1 cm, width: 46.4 cm, depth: 89.9 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)One of the warriors of the Terracotta Army, a famous collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of ChinaFemale Cycladic figurine; 2700–2600 BCE; marble; height: 37.1 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)The Minoan fresco named the Bull-Leaping Fresco; 1675-1460 BC; lime plaster; height: 0.8 m, width: 1 m; from the palace at Knossos (Crete); Heraklion Archaeological Museum (Greece)Minoan snake goddess; 1460-1410 BCE (from the Minoan Neo-palatial Period); faience; height: 29.5 cm; from the Temple Repository at Knossos; Heraklion Archaeological MuseumMycenaean rhyton in the shape of a bull's head; 1300-1200 BCE; pottery; height: 15.5 cm; British Museum (London)Geometric krater; 750-735 BCE; silhouette on terracotta; height: 1.1 m; probably from Attica (Greece); Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)The Euphiletos Painter Panathenaic prize amphora; 530 BCE; painted terracotta; height: 62.2 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe Artemision Bronze; 460-450 BCE; bronze; height: 2.1 m; National Archaeological Museum (Athens)Venus de Milo; 130–100 BCE; marble; height: 203 cm (80 in); Louvre (Paris)He entered into other men's labors and made most of his heritage. The Sphinx of Egypt became Asiatic, and its new form was transplanted to Nineveh on the one side and to Greece on the other. The rosettes and other patterns of the Babylonian cylinders were introduced into the handiwork of Phoenicia, and so passed on to the West, while the hero of the ancient Chaldean epic became first the Tyrian Melkarth, and then the Herakles of Hellas.Decorative plaque which depicts a fighting of man and griffin; 900–800 BCE; ivory: from Nimrud; Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio, USA)Oinochoe; 800-700 BC; terracotta; height: 24.1 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Face bead; mid-4th–3rd century BC; glass; height: 2.7 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtEarring from a pair, each with four relief faces; late 4th–3rd century BCE; gold; overall: 3.5 x 0.6 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe Sarcophagus of the Spouses; 530-520 BCE; terracotta; 1.14 m x 1.9 m; from a tomb of the Banditaccia necropolis (Cerveteri, Italy); LouvreWater jar with Herakles and the Hydra; circa 525 BC; black-figure pottery; height: 44.5 cm, diameter: 33.8 cm; Getty Villa (California, USA)Apollo of Veii; circa 510 BCE; painted terracotta; height: 1.81 m; National Etruscan Museum (Rome)Fresco with dancers and musicians; circa 475 BCE; fresco secco; height (of the wall); 1.7 m; Tomb of the Leopards (Monterozzi necropolis, Lazio, Italy)Bracelet; 5th-4th century BC; gold; National History Museum of Romania (Bucharest, Romania)The Helmet of Coțofenești; 4th century BCE; National History Museum of RomaniaRhyton; 4th-3rd century BC; possibly made of gold and silver; National History Museum of RomaniaThe Helmet of Peretu; 310-290 BC; gilded silver; from Peretu (Teleorman County, Romania); National History Museum of RomaniaThe Bicha of Balazote; 6th century BCE; carved of two limestone blocks; height: 73 cm; National Archaeological Museum of Spain (Madrid)The Lady of Elche; c. 450 BCE; limestone; National Archaeological Museum of SpainThe Lion from Nueva Carteya; 4th century BC; limestone; height: 60 cm; Archaeological and Ethnological Museum of Córdoba (Spain)Figurine of a standing male; 3rd-2nd century BCE; cast bronze; height: 6.8 cm; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (USA)“Owing to the limited vocabulary of figural types , invention for the Hittite artist usually was a matter of combining and manipulating the units to form more complex compositions'Drinking cup in the shape of a fist; 1400-1380 BC; silver; from Central Turkey; Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, USA)Vessel terminating in the forepart of a stag; circa 14th–13th century BCE; silver with gold inlay; height: 18 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Seal of Tarkasnawa, King of Mira; circa 1220 BC; silver; height: 1 cm, diameter: 4.2 cm; Walters Art Museum (Baltimore, USA)Three reliefs from the Adana Archaeology Museum (Turkey)Axe with eagle-headed demon & animals; late 3rd millennium-early 2nd millennium BCE; gilt silver; length: 15 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Camel figurine; late 3rd–early 2nd millennium BCE; copper alloy; 8.89 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtMonstrous male figure; late 3rd–early 2nd millennium BCE; chlorite, calcite, gold and iron; height: 10.1 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtFemale figurine of the 'Bactrian princess' type; 2500-1500; chlorite (dress and headdress) and limestone (head, hands and a leg); height: 13.33 cm; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (USA)The Amfreville helmet; by La Tène culture; late 4th century BCE; bronze, iron, gold leaf and enamel; height: 21.4 cm; National Archaeological Museum of France (Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France)Detail of the Battersea Shield; 4th to 3rd century BCE; copper alloy and emanel; height: 77.5 cm; British Museum (London)The Mšecké Žehrovice Head; 150-50 BCE; marlstone; height: 23.4 cm, width: 17.4 cm; National Museum of the Czech Republic (Prague)The Desborough mirror; 20 BCE-20 AD; copper alloy; height (with handle): 35 cm; British MuseumRelief from Persepolis (Iran) that represents people who carry bowls and amphoraesFrieze of archers; circa 510 BCE; from the Palace of Darius at Susa; LouvreGold bracelet, part of the Oxus Treasure; 5th to 4th century BCE; gold; width: 11.6 cm; British Museum (London)Column capital; 5th to 4th century BCE; stone; height: 1.75 m; from Persepolis; National Museum of Iran (Teheran)Bronze statuette of a philosopher on a lamp stand; late 1st century BCE; bronze; overall: 27.3 cm; weight: 2.9 kg; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Augustus of Prima Porta; circa 20 BCE; white marble; height: 2.06 m; Vatican Museums (Vatican City)Head of a woman; early 1st century AD; marble; overall: 21 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio, USA)Iphigeneia carried to the sacrifice; 1st century; fresco; height: 140 cm, width: 138 cm; Naples National Archaeological Museum (Italy)Pair of snake bracelets; 1st century; gold; 8.2 cm; Walters Art Museum (Baltimore, USA)The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius; circa 170; gilt bronze; height: 3.5 cm; Capitoline Museums (Rome)Sarcophagus with garlands; 200–225; marble; 134.6 x 223.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtTriumph of Neptune standing on a chariot pulled by two sea horses; mid-3rd century; Sousse Archaeological Museum (Tunisia)Colossal Head N° 1 of San Lorenzo. A historican person, likely an Olmec leader, is depicted in this monumental sculture found at San Lorenzo (in Tabasco, Mexico), a principal olmec centerSeated figurine; 12th–9th century BCE; painted ceramic; height: 34 cm, width: 31.8 cm, depth: 14.6 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Bird-shaped vessel; 12th–9th century BCE; ceramic with red ochre; height: 16.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtKunz axe; 1200–400 BCE; polished green quartz (aventurine); height: 29 cm, width: 13.5 cm; British Museum (London)Portrait bust of a woman with a scroll; late 4th–early 5th century; marble from Mount Pentelicus; overall: 53 x 27.5 x 22.2 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Church of St John the Baptist in Kerch (Crimea, Russia), noted for the candy-striping in its façade. Dating to 717 AD it is said to be one of the oldest churches in Eastern EuropeBox with scenes of Adam and Eve; circa 1000; ivory and wood; overall: 14.3 x 46.7 x 20.3 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art (USA)The Virgin and Child on the throne; 12th century; lapis lazuli; from Novgorod; Moscow Kremlin Museums (Russia)Fragment of a mosaic that represents Christ Pantocrator ('ruler over all'); 12th century; Hagia Sophia (Istanbul, Turkey)Page of an Armenian illuminated manuscript; 1637–1638; tempera colors, gold paint, and gold leaf on parchment; height: 25.2 cm; Getty Center (Los Angeles)Genealogy of the state of Muscovy; by Simon Ushakov; 1668; tempera on wood; height: 105 cm, width: 62 cm; Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow)Moldovan ewer with basin; 1680-1685; partially gilded silver; height: 51.4 cm, diameter: 38.7 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtBuckle of Sutton Hoo; 580-620; gold and niello; length: 13.1 cm; British Museum (London)The helmet of Sutton Hoo; early 7th century AD; coppery alloy, iron, gold and garnet; height: 31.8 cm; British MuseumShoulder-clasps from Sutton Hoo; early 7th century; gold, glass & garnet; length: 12.7 cm; British MuseumThe Incipit to Matthew from the Book of Lindisfarne; late 7th century; ink and pigments on vellum; 34 x 25 cm; British Library (London)Book-shaped reliquary; circa 1000; ivory, gilded silver, pearls, rubies, emeralds, crystals, onyx, cornelian and oak; overall: 31.6 x 24.4 x 7.5 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art (USA)Gospel Book of Henry II; circa 1020; illumination on parchment; Vatican Library (Rome)The Cross of Mathilde; 11th century; oak, gold sheets, glass, bronze, enamel and other materials; height: 45 cm, width: 30.5 cm; Essen Cathedral Treasury (Germany)The Bernward Column; 1000-1200; copper alloy; height: 3.8 m; Hildesheim (Lower Saxony, Germany)The Stora Hammars stones; circa 750; limestone; height: 3.7 m; Lärbro (Sweden)Plaque decorated with confronted monster heads; 8th-late 9th century; whale bone; 22 × 18.3 × 0.8 cm; Walters Art Museum (Baltimore, USA)Animal head post; circa 820; wood; height: 51 cm; Viking Ship Museum (Oslo, Norway)Terminal for an open ring brooch; circa 950; silver, gold and niello; overall: 5 x 3.7 x 3.6 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Maria Laach Abbey (near Andernach, Germany), one of the most iconic Romanesque churchesChrist in Majesty Tympanum; 1120-1132; stone: width: 9.6 m; Vézelay Abbey (Burgundy, France)Miniature of Saint John the Evangelist; before 1147; illumination on parchment; 35.5 cm; Avesnes-sur-Helpe (France)The stoning of Saint Stephen; 1160s; fresco; height: 1.3 m; Saint John Abbey (Val Müstair, Canton of Grisons, Switzerland)The Zbruch Idol, an example of a bałwan; 9th century; limestone; height: 2.67 m; Archaeological Museum of Kraków (Poland)Front of a temple pendant with two birds flanking a tree of life; 11th–12th century; cloisonné enamel & gold; overall: 5.4 x 4.8 x 1.5 cm; made in Kiev (Ukraine); Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Saint Basil's Cathedral from the Red Square (Moscow). Its extraordinary onion-shaped domes, painted in bright colors, create a memorable skyline, making St. Basil's a symbol both of Moscow and Russia as a wholeHoly Trinity, Hospitality of Abraham; by Andrei Rublev; c. 1411; tempera on panel; 1.1 x 1.4 m (4 ft 8 in x 3 ft 8​3⁄4 in); Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow)Door of the Florence Baptistery called Gates of Paradise; 1425-1452; gilded bronze; height: 5.2 m; Florence (Italy)The Arnolfini Portrait; by Jan van Eyck; 1434; oil on panel; 82.2 x 60 cm; National Gallery (London)The The Birth of Venus; by Sandro Botticelli; 1484-1485; tempera on panel; height: 172.5 cm, length: 278.5 cm; Uffizi Gallery (Florence, Italy)David; by Michelangelo; 1501-1504; marble; 517 cm × 199 cm; Galleria dell'Accademia (Florence)Mona Lisa; by Leonardo da Vinci; c. 1503–1506, perhaps continuing until c. 1517; oil on poplar panel; 77 cm × 53 cm; LouvreThe Garden of Earthly Delights; by Hieronymus Bosch; c. 1504; oil on panel; 2.2 x 1.95 m (7 ft 2​1⁄2 in.) – central panel; Museo del Prado (Madrid, Spain)The School of Athens; by Raphael; 1509-1510; fresco; 5.8 x 8.2 m; Apostolic Palace (Vatican City)Summer; by Giuseppe Arcimboldo; oil on panel; 67 x 50.8 cm; Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna, Austria)The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa; by Gian Lorenzo Bernini; 1647-1652; marble; height: 3.5 m; Santa Maria della Vittoria (Rome)Ceiling from salon of the Hôtel de Soubise in Paris (1735–40) by Germain BoffrandGerman armchair; c. 1750–1760; carved and gilded beech, covered in blue damask not original to the armchair; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Madame de Pompadour; by François Boucher; 1756; oil on canvas; 2.01 x 1.57 m; Alte Pinakothek (Munich, Germany)British fan with the garden of Chiswick villa; 1757; kid and ivory; 26.4 x 47.9 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtPart of the interior of the Panthéon, a Parisian Neoclassical mausoleum, built between 1758 and 1765The Swing; by Jean-Honoré Fragonard; 1767–1768; oil on canvas; height: 81 cm, width: 64 cm; Wallace Collection (London)Jewel coffer on stand; by Martin Carlin; circa 1775; oak veneered , gilt bronze, soft-paste porcelain and other materials; 95.6 x 55.9 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtOath of the Horatii; by Jacques-Louis David; 1784; oil on canvas; height: 330 cm, width: 425 cm; LouvreNeoclassical vases with covers; 1784-1795; soft-paste porcelain; height (with cover): 47.6 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtVenus Victrix; by Antonio Canova; 1805-1808; marble; Galleria Borghese (Rome)Clock with Mars and Venus; circa 1810; gilded bronze and patina; height: 90 cm; LouvreStele of a male wearing a baldric; 4th millennium BCE; sandstone; height: 92 cm; from Al-`Ula (Saudi Arabia); in a temporary exhibition in the National Museum of Korea (Seoul), named Roads of Arabia: Archaeological Treasures of Saudi ArabiaStanding female figure wearing a strap and a necklace; 3rd–2nd millennium BCE; sandstone and quartzite; height: 27.5 cm, width: 14.3 cm, depth: 14.3 cm; from Mareb (Yemen); Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Incense burner; mid-1st millennium BCE; bronze; height: 27.6 cm, width: 23.7 cm; depth: 23.3 cm; from Southwestern Arabia; Metropolitan Museum of ArtDecorated capital of a pillar from the royal palace of Shabwa; stratigraphic context: first half of the 3rd century BCE; National Museum of Yemen (Aden)Mihrab (prayer niche); 1354-1355; mosaic of polychrome-glazed cut tiles on stonepaste body, set into mortar; 343.1 x 288.7 cm, weight: 2041.2 kg; from Isfahan (Iran); Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Persian miniature of the Mi'raj of the Prophet by Sultan Mohammed, showing Chinese-influenced clouds and angels; 1539-1543; opaque watercolor and ink on paper; height: 28.7 cm; British Library (London)İznik dish; 16th century; stonepaste, polychrome-painted under transparent glaze; height: 6 cm, diameter: 27.9 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtCarpet; 17th century; cotton (warp and weft) and wool (pile), asymmetrically knotted pile; length: 247.65 cm, width: 142.87 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtDouble-headed serpent; 1450–1521; cedro wood (Cedrela odorata), turquoise, shell, traces of gilding & 2 resins are used as adhesive (pine resin and Bursera resin); height: 20.3 cm, width: 43.3 cm, depth: 5.9 cm; British Museum (London)Page 12 of the Codex Borbonicus, (in the big square): Tezcatlipoca (night and fate) and Quetzalcoatl (feathered serpent); before 1500; bast fiber paper; height: 38 cm, length of the full manuscript: 142 cm; Bibliothèque de l'Assemblée nationale (Paris)Aztec calendar stone; 1502–1521; basalt; diameter: 358 cm ; thick: 98 cm; discovered on 17 December 1790 during repairs on the Mexico City Cathedral; National Museum of Anthropology (Mexico City)Tlāloc effigy vessel; 1440–1469; painted earthenware; height: 35 cm; Museo del Templo Mayor (Mexico City)Portrait of K'inich Janaab Pakal I; 615-683; stucco; height: 43 cm; National Museum of Anthropology (Mexico City)Jade plaque of a Maya king; 400-800 (Classic period); height: 14 cm, width: 14 cm; found at Teotihuacan; British Museum (London)Codex-style vase with a mythological scene; 7th–8th century; cdramic; height: 19 cm, diameter: 11.2 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Relief showing Aj Chak Maax presenting captives before ruler Itzamnaaj B'alam III of Yaxchilan; 22 August 783; limestone with traces of pigment; height: 1.15 m; Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth, Texas, USA)Bird pendant; 1st–5th century; jadeite; height: 6.7 cm, width: 1.9 cm, depth: 4.7 cm; from Costa Rica; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Pectoral; 5th-10th century; gold alloy; overall: 25.1 x 26.7 cm; from Sitio Conte (Panama); Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio, USA)Vessel shaped like a turtle's carapace; 11th-14th century; painted ceramic; overall: 22.9 x 29.2 cm; from Panama; Cleveland Museum of ArtPendant with 2 bat-head worriors who carry spears; 11th–16th century; gold; overall: 7.62 cm (3 in.); from the Chiriqui Province (Panama); Metropolitan Museum of ArtYotoco animal-headed figure pendant; 1st–7th century; gold; height: 6.35 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Quimbaya lime container; 5th–9th century; gold; height: 23 c; Metropolitan Museum of ArtMuisca male figure (tunjo); 10th–mid-16th century; gold; height: 14.9 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtTairona pendant; 10th–16th century; gold; height: 14 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe Raimondi Stela; by Chavín culture; 5th-3rd century BCE; granite; height: 1.95 (6 ft. 6 in.); Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del Perú (Lima, Peru)1953 aerial photograph by Maria Reiche, one of the first archaeologists to study the Nazca lines. In this photo appears the line named 'The monkey'Ceremonial mantle with representations of supernatural beings; by Paracas culture; 100 BC-100 AD; embroidered plain cotton weave; height: 12.8 cm, width: 12.9 cm; Lima Art Museum (Lima, Peru)Moche portrait vessel of a ruler; by Moche culture; 100 BC-500 AD; ceramic & pigment; Art Institute of Chicago (USA)Anthropomorphic figure; from the Wari empire; 7th-10th century; burned clay; from Mantaro Valley; Museum Rietberg (Zürich, Switzerland)Funerary mask; by Sican culture; 900-1100; gold, silver and cinnabar; height: 29.2, width: 49.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Ceremonial knife (tumi); by Sican culture; 10th–13th century; gold, turquoise, greenstone & shell; height: 33 cm (1 ft. 1 in.); Metropolitan Museum of ArtFigurines of a man and a llama; from the Inca empire; 1400–1532; gold; Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio, USA)Spatula; 10th-15th century; manatee bone; overall: 19.1 x 3.2 x 11 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio, USA)Taino deity figure (Zemi); 15th–16th century CE; wood & shell; probably from the Dominican Republic; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Marajoara cylindrical vessel; 400–1000 CE; ceramic with creamy white slip under reddish brown paint; height: 38.5 cm; from the Marajó island (Brazil)Large funerary vessel; 400-1400; ceramic with creamy white slip under reddish brown paint; height: 89 cm; from the Marajó islandMogollon bowl with a geometric design and a pronghorn antelope; 1000-1150; earthenware; diameter: 31.2 cm, overall: 12.5 x 32 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio, USA)Kwakwaka'wakw whale figure; 19th century; cedar wood, hide, cotton cord, nails & pigment; 60 x 72.4 x 206 cm; Brooklyn Museum (New York City)Kwakwaka'wakw totem in Ottawa (Canada)Hopi vassel; 19th century; ceramic with pigments; from Arizona; Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts (California)Old Bering Sea head; 2nd–4th century; ivory (walrus); height: 6.35 cm (2​1⁄2 in.); Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Punuk knife handle; 11th–12th century; walrus ivory; height: 3.8 cm, width: 14 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtYupik mask with seal or sea otter spirit; late 19th century; wood, paint, gut cord, & feathers; Dallas Museum of Art (Texas, USA)Yupik boat mask of a shaman; 1883; Ethnological Museum of Berlin (Germany)Final (kulan); 6th-5th century BCE; bronze; 14.5 x 9 cm; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (USA)Scythian dress ornaments; 5th century BCE; gold; height: 2.54 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Warrior statue; 8th-10th century; from the Kosh-Agach region (Altai); Hermitage (Sankt Petersburg, Russia)Suzani (ceremonial hanging); late 1700s; cotton; 92 x 63; from Uzbekistan; Indianapolis Museum of Art (USA)Seated Buddha; circa 475; sandstone; height: 1.6 m; Sarnath Museum (India)Nataraja; circa 11th century; copper alloy; height: 68.3 cm, diameter: 56.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Statue of Ganesh; 11th century; sandstone Rietberg Museum (Zürich, Switzerland)Portrait of Shah Jahan on the Peacock Throne; 19th century; height of the page: 37.2 cm, height of the painting: 16.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtFigurine; 14th–15th century; gilt-copper alloy; height: 13.5 cm, width: 9.8 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Altar; 1700-1899; metal, stones and filigree; length: 130.7 cm; British Museum (London)Travelling shrine; 17th–18th century; copper and silver, partly gilded; Rietberg Museum (Zürich, Switzerland)Painted medicine Buddha mandala with goddess Prajnaparamita in center; 19th century; Rubin Museum of Art (New York City)Changxin Palace lamp; circa 172 BC; bronze and gold; height: 48 cm; Hebei Provincial Museum (China)Votive stele with Buddha Shakyamuni; dated 542 (Eastern Wei Dynasty); limestone; Museum Rietberg (Zürich, Switzerland)Statuettes of dancers; 8th century (Tang Empire); ceramic; Historical Museum of Bern (Switzerland)Covered box with pavilion and figures; 1300s (the Yuan dynasty); carved lacquer; Tokyo National Museum (Tokyo)The David Vases; 1351 (the Yuan dynasty); porcelain, cobalt blue decor under glaze; height: 63.8 cm; British Museum (London)Two flasks with dragons; 1403-1424; underglaze blue porcelain; height (the left one): 47.8 cm, height (the right one): 44.6 cm; British MuseumPilgrim flask decorated with peaches and pomegrenates, made with the cloisonné technique; 1st half of the 17th century (the Ming Dynasty); Museum RietbergPeaceful Start for the New Year; by Ding Guanpeng; 1748; ink and color on paper; height: 179.3 cm; National Palace Museum (Taipei, Taiwan)Fudo Myoo (Acala), king of mystical knowledge; late 12th century (Fujiwara period); cypress wood with remains of colored frame; Museum Rietberg (Zürich, Switzerland)Kakiemon octagonal bottle with long neck, decorated with flowering trees; 1675–1725; glazed porcelain; Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, the Netherlands)Three Beauties of the Present Day; by Kitagawa Utamaro; circa 1793; height: 3.87 cm (15.23 in), width: 2.62 cm (10.31 in); Toledo Museum of Art (Toledo, Ohio, USA)Inrō; 19th century; wood, lacquer and gold; Historical Museum of Bern (Switzerland)Statue of Maitreya in meditation; 6th-7th century; gilt bronze; height: 83.2 cm; National Museum of Korea (Seoul)Melon-shaped vase; 1100s; celadon; 25.2 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio, USA)Water-moon Kwanseumǔm; early 14th century; hanging scroll, ink and colours on silk; 1.14 x 0.55 m; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Jar; 15th century; painted and glazed porcelain; height: 24.5 cm; National Museum of KoreaFigurine; from Java (Indonesia); 9th century; bronze; height: 11.4 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Seated deity; late 9th; sandstone; from Champa (Quang Nam Province, Temple Complex of Dong-du'o'ng); Rietberg Museum (Zürich, Switzerland)Ring; from Java; second half of the 9th–first quarter of the 10th century; gold; height: 0.3 cm, diameter: 2.7 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtTollitama pediment; from Cambodia; 976; pink sandstone; 196 x 269 cm; Musée Guimet (Paris)A page of the Phra Malai Manuscript; opaque watercolor and ink on paper; covers: gilded and lacquered paper; c. 1860–1880; 13.97 x 68.26 x 6.35 cm; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (USA)Kain sarong prada (ceremonial skirt cloth); from Indramaya (Java, Indonesia); late 19th century; cotton, gold leaf, plain weave, batik (resist dyed); Honolulu Museum of Art (Hawaii, USA)Mask of Prabu Dewakusuma, prince of Jenggala; circa 1890; painted wood; from eastern Java; Museum RietbergFive wayang puppets from Eastern Java: Kumbakarna, Batara guru, Rama, Anoman and Raguwati; in Bern Historical Museum (Switzerland)Seated figure; by Nok culture; 5th century BC-5th century AD; terracotta; height: 38 cm; Musée du quai Branly (Paris)Plaque with warriors and attendants; from the Kingdom of Benin; 16th–17th century; brass; height: 47.6 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtPrestige chair; by Babanki people; circa 1800; wood: overall: 80.7 x 53.3 x 44.5 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio, USA)Headrest; by Luba people; 19th century; wood; height: 18.5 cm (7.2 in), width: 19 cm (7.4 in), thickness: 8 cm (3.1 in); Musée du quai BranlyMask; by Fang people; circa 1895; wood coloured with kaolin; height: 78 cm; Ethnological Museum of Berlin (Germany)Mask; by Kwele people; early 20th century; painted wood; height: 63 cm; Muséum d'Histoire naturelle de La Rochelle (La Rochelle, France)Mask; by Yaka people; early 20th century; wood, raffia & color pigments; Museum Rietberg (Zürich, Switzerland)Buffalo mask; possibly by Bwa people; early-mid 1900s; fibres and painted wood; Cleveland Museum of ArtHead; 9th–11th century; vesicular basalt; height: 19.7 cm, width: 15.5 cm; from Hawaii; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Moais at Rano Raraku (the Easter Island). The Moais are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500Māori part of treasure chests; circa 1850; from the New Zealand; Musée du quai Branly (Paris)Uli figure; c. 19th century; painted wood, cowrie snail, cap of the turbo-snail and bast fibers; from New Ireland Province (Papua New Guinea); Rietberg Museum (Zürich, Switzerland)Monkey mask; Papua New Guinea, Lavongai Island (New Hanover) circa 19th; wood, rotan, bark rind, banana fibers, lime, hematite and blue pigments; from Lavongai Island (Papua New Guinea); Museum RietbergBattle shield; 19th-early 20th centuries; wood, grass and raffia; from Kambrambo (Lower Sepik Region, Papua New Guinea); Museum RietbergMasi (barkcloth); 20th century; from Fiji; Honolulu Museum of Art (Hawaii, USA)Painting of a kangaroo totemic ancestor; 1915; painting on bark; 92.5 × 35.5 × 5.5 cm; Alligator Rivers (Arnhem Land, Noni, Australia); Musée du quai Branly (Paris)The Red Square in Moscow; by Fyodor Alekseyev; 1801; oil on canvas; height: 81.3 cm, width: 110.5 cm; Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow)Hebe; by Antonio Canova; 1800-1805; marble; height: 158 cm; Hermitage Museum (Saint Petersburg, Russia)Liberty Leading the People; by Eugène Delacroix; 1830; oil on canvas; height: 260 cm, width: 325 cm; LouvreThe Great Wave off Kanagawa; by Katsushika Hokusai; circa 1830–1832; full-colour woodblock print; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)The Ballet Class; by Edgar Degas; 1871-1874; oil on canvas; 85 x 75 cm; Musée d'Orsay (Paris)Paris Street; Rainy Day; by Gustave Caillebotte; 1877; oil on canvas; 2.12 x 2.76 m; Art Institute of Chicago (USA)Dance at Le moulin de la Galette, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir; 1876; oil on canvas; height: 131 cm; Musée d'OrsayElegant Art and Craft wardrobe; by Benn Pitman; 1884; Cincinnati Art Museum (USA)In stand by; by Nicolae Grigorescu; circa 1888-1893; 135.5 x 65 cm; National Museum of Art of Romania (Bucharest)The Starry Night; by Vincent van Gogh; 1889; oil on canvas; height: 73.7 cm; Museum of Modern Art (New York City)Frontal view of the Central University Library of Bucharest (Romania), by Paul Gottereau, built between 1891 and 1894Lilies of the Valley, a Fabergé egg; by Peter Carl Fabergé; 1898; enamel, gold, diamonds, rubies & pearls; 15.1 cm (5.9 in) when is closed; Fabergé Museum (Saint Petersburg, Russia)Afternoon dress; 1900-1903; silk, linen and rhinestones; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)Hair ornament; by René Lalique; circa 1902; gold, emeralds and diamonds; Musée d'Orsay (Paris)Art Nouveau dining room, 1903-1906, by Eugène Vallin, in Musée de l'École de Nancy (France)Lamp; 1904-1915; leaded favrile Tiffany glass with bronze; diameter of the base: 37.1 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtWoman with a Hat; by Henri Matisse; 1905; oil on canvas; 80.56 x 59.69 cm; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (USA)The Assan house from Bucharest (Romania), by Ion D. Berindey and built in the French Neoclassical between 1906 and 1914Les Demoiselles d'Avignon; by Pablo Picasso; 1907; oil on canvas; 244 x 234 cm; Museum of Modern Art (New York City)The Kiss; by Constantin Brâncuși; 1907; stone; height: 28 cm; Craiova Art Museum (Romania)The Dream; by Henri Rousseau; 1910; oil on canvas; 204.5 x 298.5 cm; Museum of Modern Art (New York City)Photo of the interior of the apartment of Eugène Atget, taken in 1910Self-portrait; by Boris Kustodiev; 1912; tempera; 100 x 85 cm; Uffizi Gallery (Florence, Italy)Female head; by Amedeo Modigliani; 1912; limestone; height: 68.3 cm, width: 15.9 cm, depth: 24.1 cm; Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe Violinist; by Marc Chagall; 1912-1913; oil on checked tablecloth; 1.88 x 1.58 m; Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (The Netherlands)Street, Berlin; by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner; 1913; oil on canvas; 1.21 x 0.91 m; Museum of Modern Art (New York City)Unique Forms of Continuity in Space; by Umberto Boccioni; 1913; bronze; height: 1.09 m; Museum of Modern Art (New York City)On White II; by Wassily Kandinsky; 1923; oil on canvas; 105 × 98 cm; Musée national d'Art moderne (Paris)Cakes; by Wayne Thiebaud; 1963; oil on canvas; 1.52 x 1.83 m; National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.)Dona i Ocell; by Joan Miró; 1983; Parc Joan Miró (Barcelona, Spain)Pencils; by Guerrino Boatto; 1 August 1986; acrylic on scholler; 70 x 50 cm; private collectionRose; by Isa Genzken; 1993; in front of Neue Leipziger Messe (Leipzig, Germany)Hall, 2004. The history of art focuses on objects made by humans in visual form for aesthetic purposes. Visual art can be classified in diverse ways, such as separating fine arts from applied arts; inclusively focusing on human creativity; or focusing on different media such as architecture, sculpture, painting, film, photography, and graphic arts. In recent years, technological advances have led to video art, computer art, Performance art, animation, television, and videogames. The history of art is often told as a chronology of masterpieces created during each civilization. It can thus be framed as a story of high culture, epitomized by the Wonders of the World. On the other hand, vernacular art expressions can also be integrated into art historical narratives, referred to as folk arts or craft. The more closely that an art historian engages with these latter forms of low culture, the more likely it is that they will identify their work as examining visual culture or material culture, or as contributing to fields related to art history, such as anthropology or archaeology. In the latter cases art objects may be referred to as archeological artifacts. Engraved shells created by Homo erectus dating as far back as 500,000 years ago have been found, although experts disagree on whether these engravings can be properly classified as ‘art’. A number of claims of Neanderthal art, adornment, and structures have been made, dating from around 130,000 before present and suggesting that Neanderthals may have been capable of symbolic thought, but none of these claims are widely accepted. The oldest secure human art that has been found dates to the Late Stone Age during the Upper Paleolithic, possibly from around 70,000 BCE but with certainty from around 40,000 BCE, when the first creative works were made from shell, stone, and paint by Homo sapiens, using symbolic thought. During the Upper Paleolithic (50,000–10,000 BCE), humans practiced hunting and gathering and lived in caves, where cave painting was developed. During the Neolithic period (10,000–3,000 BCE), the production of handicrafts commenced. The earliest human artifacts showing evidence of workmanship with an artistic purpose are the subject of some debate. It is clear that such workmanship existed by 40,000 years ago in the Upper Paleolithic era, although it is quite possible that it began earlier. The artistic manifestations of the Upper-Paleolithic reached their peak in the Magdalenian period (±15,000–8,000 BCE). Surviving art from this period includes small carvings in stone or bone and cave painting. The first traces of human-made objects appeared in southern Africa, the Western Mediterranean, Central and Eastern Europe (Adriatic Sea), Siberia (Baikal Lake), India and Australia. These first traces are generally worked stone (flint, obsidian), wood or bone tools. To paint in red, iron oxide was used. Cave paintings have been found in the Franco-Cantabrian region. There are pictures that are abstract as well as pictures that are naturalistic. Animals were painted in the caves of Altamira, Trois Frères, Chauvet and Lascaux. Sculpture is represented by the so-called Venus figurines, feminine figures which may have been used in fertility cults, such as the Venus of Willendorf. There is a theory that these figures may have been made by women as expressions of their own body. Other representative works of this period are the Man from Brno and the Venus of Brassempouy. In Old World archaeology, Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, mesos 'middle'; λίθος, lithos 'stone') is the period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymously, especially for outside northern Europe, and for the corresponding period in the Levant and Caucasus. The Mesolithic has different time spans in different parts of Eurasia. It refers to the final period of hunter-gatherer cultures in Europe and West Asia, between the end of the Last Glacial Maximum and the Neolithic Revolution. In Europe it spans roughly 15,000 to 5,000 BP, in Southwest Asia (the Epipalaeolithic Near East) roughly 20,000 to 8,000 BP.The term is less used of areas further east, and not all beyond Eurasia and North Africa. The Neolithic period began about 10,000 BCE. The rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin—dated between the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras—contained small, schematic paintings of human figures, with notable examples in El Cogul, Valltorta, Alpera and Minateda. Neolithic painting is similar to paintings found in northern Africa (Atlas, Sahara) and in the area of modern Zimbabwe. Neolithic painting is often schematic, made with basic strokes (men in the form of a cross and women in a triangular shape). There are also cave paintings in Pinturas River in Argentina, especially the Cueva de las Manos. In portable art, a style called Cardium pottery was produced, decorated with imprints of seashells. New materials were used in art, such as amber, crystal, and jasper. In this period, the first traces of urban planning appeared, such as the remains in Tell as-Sultan (Jericho), Jarmo (Iraq) and Çatalhöyük (Anatolia). In South-Eastern Europe appeared many cultures, such as the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture (from Romania, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine), and the Hamangia culture (from Romania and Bulgaria). Other regions with many cultures are China, most notable being the Yangshao culture and the Longshan culture; and Egypt, with the Badarian, the Naqada I, II and III cultures.