Course detail

Ancient and Classical Art History Overview

FaVU-1PDU-PSAcad. year: 2024/2025

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

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

PhDr. Kaliopi Chamonikolasová, Ph.D.

Department

Department of Art History and Theory (KTDU)

Entry knowledge

Secondary school konwledge of art history.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

Written test.

50% attendance compulsory.

Aims

The aim of the subject is to obtain a basic overview of the prehistoric and ancient epochs of the history of art and the development of architecture, to appreciate their contribution, to learn about the various stages of development in the oldest history of mankind, their common features and specifics, to understand how a work of art is created, who influences its form and theme and how its functions 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

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

Bouzek, J., Kratochvíl, Z., Od mýtu k logu. Praha, Herman & synové, 1994. (CS)
Bouzek, J., Kratochvíl, Z., Řeč umění a archaické filosofie. Praha, Herman & synové, 1995. (CS)
Clottes Jean, Půtová Barbora, Soukup Václav: Pravěké umění. Evoluce člověka a kultury, Praha, Karolinum, 2021. (CS)
Hans Belting, Antropologie obrazu. Návrhy vědy o obrazu. Brno, 2022. (CS)
John Boardman, Řecké umění, Praha, 1975. (CS)

Type of course unit

Lecture

26 hod., compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

PhDr. Kaliopi Chamonikolasová, Ph.D.

Syllabus

The Paleolithic in Western Europe and the Czech lands, the birth of human creativity and the interpretation of prehistoric art

Neolithic culture in Asia Minor, in Europe and in our country, the development of settlements and dwellings, the beginnings of architecture

Architecture and art of Mesopotamia during the Sumerian, Akkadian and Babylonian periods

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 craft in ancient Greece, the search for the ideal of human beauty and repeated returns in history, the first attempts to define aesthetic concepts

Hellenism and the expansion of Greek culture at the time of Alexander the Great

Pergamon 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 "migration of peoples" and the formation of "barbarian" kingdoms at the transition between antiquity and the Middle Ages