Early European and Colonial American Art, 200–1750 CE

The introduction of precise mechanisms reflected technological advancements and the desire to measure divine order, which manifested in cathedral designs.

Clocks brought a focus on secular aspects of life, encouraging their removal from sacred spaces altogether.

Mechanical clocks promoted the inclusion of pictorial decorations on church facades, diminishing the spiritual significance of architectural elements.

The incorporation of clocks in cathedrals symbolized church authority and the merging of ecclesiastical and temporal power.

Massive dome structures supported by pendentives

Monolithic columns with relief sculptures depicting biblical scenes

Heavy load-bearing walls with small rounded arches

Flying buttresses supporting large stained glass windows

It allowed artworks to be reproduced more easily and distributed widely among various classes.

It caused a decline in manuscript illumination as books could now be printed instead of handwritten.

Woodcut prints were fragile and rarely survived, leading to fewer examples of artwork from this period.

It limited artistic expression due to its difficulty compared to painting or drawing.

The technique was largely ineffectual as its productions were considered inferior imitations compared to original artworks only catering to elite tastes.

By democratizing access to images and ideas, it facilitated wider dissemination leading to greater public knowledge exchange.

Printmaking significantly decreased literacy rates by reducing dependency on textual information through visual narratives only.

Printmaking led directly to an increase in sculpture production because two-dimensional works were seen as having lesser value than three-dimensional forms.

Woodcut relief printing from a carved block

Lithography using oil-based ink on limestone

Engraving on a metal plate

Etching with acid on a copper plate

Cutting colored glass into shapes and fitting them with lead strips.

Carving single pieces of colored crystal.

Fusing multiple layers of tinted glass sheets together.

Painting clear glass with glazes that are then fired.

Gold leaf application to highlight importance and beauty.

Use of bright colored inks to enhance readability in low light conditions.

Silver painting for reflective surfaces against dark parchment.

Platinum coverings for long term preservation of the manuscripts page edges.

It reflected humanist principles by emphasizing individual identity over collective representation typical of earlier medieval art.

It celebrated their wealth and social status through detailed depictions of luxurious fabrics, furnishings, and symbolic objects.

It critiqued their materialism by contrasting lavish interiors with the simple piety depicted in religious scenes within the painting.

It revealed anxieties about transience and morality through subtle reminders of death integrated into everyday life settings.

Watercolor on paper

Acrylic on wood

Oil on canvas

Gold leaf and ink on vellum or parchment

It led to more somber and macabre themes, reflecting on mortality and the afterlife.

It initiated a greater focus on landscape painting as an escape from reality.

Art became more focused on scientific illustration due to increased medical interest.

The use of gold in artwork significantly increased as a symbol of divine protection.