Unit 2 Required Works
Chloe Davis
12 min read
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Study Guide Overview
This study guide covers Ancient Mediterranean Art (c. 3500 BCE - 400 CE), including Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art. Key works are examined with details on form, function, content, and context. Important concepts such as hierarchy of scale, registers, and narrative art are also highlighted.
#AP Art History: The Night Before 🌙
Hey there, future art historian! You've made it to the final stretch. This guide is designed to be your best friend tonight, helping you feel confident and ready for anything the AP exam throws your way. Let's dive in!
#🏛️ Ancient Mediterranean Art (c. 3500 BCE - 400 CE)
#Mesopotamia (Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian)
#White Temple and its Ziggurat
Form: Mud brick. Function: Religious structure, access via terraces. Content: Sloping sides, cella (inner chamber). Context: Uruk, c. 3200-3000 BCE. One of the oldest ziggurats, elevated for deity descent.
Think of a muddy mountain reaching for the sky. Ziggurats are all about getting closer to the gods, step by step.
#Statues of Votive Figures
Form: Gypsum with shell and limestone inlay. Function: Stylized representations of patrons, placed in temples for continuous prayer. Content: Folded hands, HUGE open eyes. Context: Sumer, c. 2700 BCE. Hundreds found buried under temple floors.
Imagine these figures with their eyes wide open, never ceasing their prayers on your behalf.
#Standard of Ur
Form: Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone. Function: Narrative art, possibly funerary. Content: Registers, hierarchy of scale, twisted perspective. War side and peace side. Context: Sumerian, reflects extensive trade networks.
Think of it as a historical comic strip, with a war side and a party side.
#The Code of Hammurabi
Form: Basalt stele. Function: Displays Hammurabi's power, first written law code. Content: Shamash giving Hammurabi symbols of authority, cuneiform laws. Context: Ancient Babylon. Divine blessing of laws.
It's like a giant stone tablet with the rules of the land, blessed by the sun god himself.
#Lamassu from the Citadel of Sargon II
Form: Alabaster. Function: Guardian figures, ward off enemies, symbolize king's power. Content: 5-legged, winged, composite human-animal figure. Context: Assyrian, c. 720 BCE. Reflects warring nature of the kingdom.
Imagine a powerful beast guarding the city gates, ready to scare off any intruders.
#Ancient Egypt
#Palette of King Narmer
Form: Graywacke. Function: Commemorates King Narmer uniting Upper and Lower Egypt, ceremonial use. Content: Hierarchy of scale, registers, King Narmer with crowns of both kingdoms. Context: Old Kingdom, unification of Egypt.
Think of it as a historical infographic, showing Narmer's power and the unification of Egypt.
#Seated Scribe
Form: Painted limestone with inlaid crystal eyes. Function: Funerary item, ka statue. Honors scribe's ability for writing. Content: Realistic, non-idealized, seated with papyrus scroll. Context: Saqqara, Egypt.
It's like a lifelike portrait of a very important person, not a god or a king, but a scribe.
#Great Pyramids (Menkaura, Khafre, Khufu) and Great Sphinx
Form: Limestone. Function: Pyramids as tombs, Sphinx as guardian, symbols of royal power. Content: King's chamber, mortuary temple, Sphinx is composite human-animal figure. Context: Giza, oriented to the sun, modeled after ben-ben.
Imagine massive triangles pointing to the sky, guarded by a creature with a human head and a lion's body.
#King Menkaura and Queen
Form: Greywacke. Function: Funerary, ka statue. Content: Traditional royal attire, both figures taking strides, similar height. Context: Symbolic of king's strength.
It's a power couple portrait, showing both the king and queen with equal respect.
#Temple of Amun-Re and Hypostyle Hall
Form: Cut sandstone and brick. Function: Religious center dedicated to Amun-Re. Content: Hypostyle hall with papyrus-like columns, innermost chamber with a well. Context: Karnak, Egypt, built over multiple generations.
Imagine a forest of stone columns, resembling papyrus plants growing along the Nile.
#Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut
Form: Sandstone, partially carved into a rock cliff, red granite. Function: Commemorates Hatshepsut as a female pharaoh. Content: Hieroglyphics, Hatshepsut in pharaoh attire, holding canopic jars. Context: First time a woman and her honors are celebrated.
It's a grand monument celebrating the power of a female pharaoh, a rare sight in ancient history.
#Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Three Daughters
Form: Limestone. Function: Decoration, demonstrates Amarna style. Content: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and daughters, sun's rays with ankhs, sunken relief. Context: Amarna period, monotheistic religion focused on Aton.
Think of a family portrait basking in the sun's rays, a symbol of the new religion.
#Tutankhamun’s Tomb, Innermost Coffin
Form: Solid gold with inlay. Function: Coffin for King Tutankhamun. Content: Idealized Tutankhamun, holding crook and flail. Context: Preservation for the afterlife.
It's a golden sarcophagus fit for a king, ensuring his journey to the afterlife.
#Last Judgement of Hunefer
Form: Painted papyrus scroll. Function: Narrative of Hunefer's journey to the afterlife. Content: Registers, twisted perspective, Anubis weighing heart, Ammit, Thoth, Osiris. Context: Book of the Dead, guide to afterlife.
It's like a comic book of the afterlife, showing the judgment process and the path to eternity.
#Ancient Greece
#Athenian Agora
Form: Plan, marble buildings. Function: Civic center. Content: Temples, stoas, tholos, Panathenaic Way, bouleuterion. Context: Athens, 600 BCE-150 CE.
Think of it as the heart of Athens, a bustling hub of political and social life.
#Anavysos Kouros
Form: Marble with remnants of paint. Function: Grave marker. Content: Nude, idealized kouros, archaic smile. Context: Archaic period, Greek humanism.
Imagine a perfectly sculpted young man, standing tall with a gentle smile.
#Peplos Kore
Form: Marble with painted details. Function: Grave marker or religious purposes. Content: Idealized kore, peplos dress, archaic smile. Context: Acropolis, Archaic period.
It's a graceful young woman, dressed in traditional attire, with a slight smile.
#Niobides Krater
Form: Clay with red-figure technique. Function: Krater for mixing water and wine, narrative art. Content: Artemis and Apollo killing Niobides' children, other side debated. Context: Found in Italy, possibly traded.
Think of a vase with a dramatic story, showing the wrath of the gods.
#Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)
Form: Original bronze, Roman copy in marble. Function: Transition from Archaic to Classical style. Content: Idealized nude man, contrapposto. Context: Polykleitos, Greek mathematician who invented contrapposto.
It's the perfect human form, balanced and natural, a masterpiece of classical sculpture.
#Acropolis
Form: Marble. Function: Parthenon for Athena statue, Temple of Athena Nike for victory commemoration. Content: Doric and ionic columns, friezes, wet drapery, contrapposto. Context: Classical Period, Athens, built on a hill.
Imagine a city on a hill, crowned with temples and sculptures, a testament to Greek power and artistry.
#Grave Stele of Hegeso
Form: Marble with paint. Function: Grave marker. Content: Hegeso seated, examining jewelry. Context: Classical Greece, c. 410 BCE, resembles a modern tombstone.
It's a snapshot of daily life, a woman admiring her jewelry, a personal touch in a grave marker.
#Winged Victory of Samothrace
Form: Marble. Function: Commemorates naval victory, protect sailors. Content: Winged Nike, wet drapery, contrapposto. Context: Hellenistic Period, damaged but powerful.
Imagine a goddess of victory, wings spread, landing on the bow of a ship.
#Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon
Form: Marble. Function: Demonstrates Athena's victories. Content: Gods defeating Giants, emotional depictions, Nike crowning Athena. Context: Parallels Alexander the Great's victory over the Persians.
It's a battle scene in stone, showing the gods in their triumphant glory.
#Etruscan Art
#Sarcophagus of the Spouses
Form: Terra cotta. Function: Sarcophagus for a married couple. Content: Reclining couple, holding objects, mutual respect. Context: Etruscan, wine symbolism, funerary rituals.
It's a cozy couple, enjoying their time together even in death.
#Temple of Minerva and Sculpture of Apollo
Form: Temple: wood, mud brick, tufa. Sculpture: terra cotta. Function: Temple for Minerva, sculpture for decoration. Content: Three cellas, Apollo with archaic smile. Context: Etruscan, inspired by Greek architecture and sculpture.
Think of a temple with a terracotta statue, a mix of Etruscan and Greek styles.
#Tomb of the Triclinium
Form: Tufa and fresco. Function: Tomb, artwork depicts lively events. Content: People dancing and celebrating. Context: Etruscan, afterlife viewed as a celebration.
It's like a party in a tomb, showing the Etruscan joy of life, even after death.
#Ancient Rome
#Audience Hall of Darius and Xerxes
Form: Limestone. Function: Demonstrate Persian Empire's power, public gathering. Content: Relief sculptures, 72 columns. Context: Persepolis, started by Darius, finished by Xerxes.
Imagine a grand hall with towering columns, a symbol of Persian imperial power.
#House of the Vettii
Form: Cut stone and fresco. Function: Home, display of wealth. Content: Atrium, narrow entrance, fresco paintings in 4th style. Context: Imperial Rome, Vetti family.
It's a lavish Roman home, filled with art and designed for comfort and display.
#Alexander Mosaic
Form: Mosaic. Function: Flooring, depicts historical event. Content: Alexander the Great and Darius III at the Battle of Issus. Context: Depicts Alexander as a powerful conqueror.
It's a colorful battle scene, frozen in time on the floor of a Roman home.
#Seated Boxer
Form: Bronze. Function: Possibly a good luck charm for athletes. Content: Boxer after a fight, seated with gloves, expressing emotion. Context: Hellenistic Greece, rare bronze sculpture.
It's a tired but tough boxer, showing the aftermath of a grueling fight.
#Head of a Roman Patrician
Form: Marble. Function: Busts for Roman aristocrats. Content: Veristic style, serious expression, wrinkles. Context: Roman, patrician, signs of experience and wisdom.
It's a realistic portrait of an elder statesman, showing the wisdom that comes with age.
#Augustus of Prima Porta
Form: Marble. Function: Propaganda, support Augustus' power. Content: Idealized Augustus, military attire, pointing finger, Cupid. Context: First emperor of Rome, Greek influence.
It's a heroic statue of the emperor, showing his power and divine connection.
#Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater)
Form: Stone and concrete. Function: Public entertainment, gladiator battles. Content: Repetitive arches, engaged columns, use of Greek orders. Context: Inspired by Greek theaters, seating based on social status.
Imagine a massive stadium, where gladiators battled and crowds cheered.
#Forum of Trajan
Form: Brick, concrete, marble. Function: Public space, markets, courts, commemorate Trajan. Content: Large entrance, markets, Column of Trajan with historical narratives. Context: Trajan's ashes at bottom of column, Dacian Wars.
It's a bustling city center, with markets, courts, and a towering column telling a story.
#Pantheon
Form: Concrete with stone facing. Function: Roman temple dedicated to all gods. Content: Corinthian capitals, oculus, coffers, areas for statues. Context: Commissioned by Agrippa, revised by Hadrian.
Imagine a grand dome with a hole in the center, a temple dedicated to all the gods.
#Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus
Form: Marble. Function: Funerary item. Content: Ludovisi leading Romans into battle, crowded with figures, horror vacui. Context: Roman general, idealized depiction of Romans.
It's a chaotic battle scene carved onto a coffin, showing the Romans in their military glory.
#💡 Key Concepts & Connections
Hierarchy of Scale: Remember this! It's used in many works (Narmer Palette, Standard of Ur, Code of Hammurabi) to show importance. The bigger, the more important!
Registers: Horizontal bands that separate scenes. Think of them as comic book panels (Narmer Palette, Standard of Ur, Last Judgement of Hunefer).
Narrative Art: Many works tell a story (Narmer Palette, Standard of Ur, Niobides Krater, Last Judgement of Hunefer). Pay attention to the details!
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