WINDOWS ON HUMANITY

windows on humanity

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About the book

The WINDOWS ON HUMANITY book project began with the initiative and support of Peter LePort, Founder of LePort Schools in Orange County, CA, for a book that reflects the author's teachings on art history. His initial idea was for a textbook, but by the final draft of the manuscript, he saw the book’s potential for a much wider readership. This book offers two additions to the modern corpus of introductory art history surveys. It is written from the perspective that art reflects philosophical ideas and embodies some philosophical outlook about life and our world. And this is a history of art written by an artist. What has resulted to-date is the first of potentially a 3-volume series on the history of the visual arts of Western civilization. The content follows the chronology of people's varied and changing outlooks on life as those views were expressed in the visual arts of prehistoric Europe, ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, the ancient Aegean, Greece and Rome.

The INTRODUCTION highlights the value of studying art history as a visual record of thought and values. Basic premises of the book are stated: that art originates from and embodies a metaphysical view about life and the world. The nature of art is demonstrated and the rational method of inquiry is introduced to provide a basic context for study. The benefit of using art to better understand general history is raised. Emphasis on dating and attribution methods gives readers a sense of how the facts that they will be exploring were established and that those facts are a legitimate basis for the observations and inferences that readers can make. 

Subsequent CHAPTERS proceed chronologically with reference to prior chapter content. The text provides general historical and intellectual context for each period and touches on the relevance of historical arts and ideas to modern culture. Content is presented in comprehensive segments that can be used to frame lessons. Chapters feature same-page footnotes to clarify content. Maps and timelines help readers relate the location and timeframes of artworks to the wider history of mankind. Chapter summaries and questions focus on key concepts and invite the reader to examine topics in greater depth and make their own inferences. Chapters are rich with images curated for their relevance and clarity.  The glossary describes technical and abstract terms in a conversational style.

IMAGES provide clear views of the artworks. Sample artworks demonstrate the conceptual content of the text and enable the reader's first-hand evaluation. Image captions describe each work, including their location in international collections.  Sample artworks include master works that exemplify cultural trends, as well as lesser known works. SIDEBARS highlight important topics or target related information. HISTORIC QUOTES poignantly express cultural and intellectual trends, and indicate that there is a background of historical literature that supports the study of art.
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about the author

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Sandra Shaw has studied art and its history for over 30 years. Her research and analysis of the arts of Western civilization inspired her lectures for college students and adult audiences. Her study of the history of philosophical ideas informs her writing. Sandra has a master's degree in Philosophy with studies in ancient Roman art and graduate studies in Hellenistic culture (University of Toronto). She augmented her knowledge of art with studio training at the National Academy of Art in New York. Her experience as a professional sculptor gives her writing an artist's first-hand perspective on the creation and meaning of art -- a feature that is new to the tradition of art history survey texts. 
Author's Page at amazon

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partial table of contents

CHAPTER 1    INTRODUCTION
Why study art history?
Art embodies a metaphysical view
Where do art trends come from?
Our study of art strengthens our understanding of history
Historically, art has been viewed as crucially important in life
What does this book explore?
THE RATIONAL METHOD
How do we know the history of art?


CHAPTER 2    PREHISTORIC ARTS
PALEOLITHIC ART
Introduction
Who invented art?
​Why did prehistoric people invent art?
The Cro-Magnons' achievement
Cave art represented stylized versions of Early Man's top values
The nude female form embodied early ideas about human beings
​Prehistoric art is distinguished from tribal art
NEOLITHIC ART
Introduction
​Neolithic art reflects greater interest in human beings
Idols and votives stood for nature spirits and their worshipers


CHAPTER 3   MESOPOTAMIAN ART
Introduction
SUMERIAN BEGINNINGS
Sumerian art was the foundation of Mesopotamian art
The art of idolatry continued in the Bronze Age
Sumerian Adorers followed the Neolithic canon, with innovations
The Neolithic canon persisted for millennia
The Sumerian art of hero-worship embodied an early idea of human greatness
The Gilgamesh motif represented an ideal hero
AKKADIAN AND BABYLONIAN DEVELOPMENTS
Succeeding cultures inherited and altered Sumer's heroic vision
The royal "portrait" was developed to embody strength and nobility
Artists expressed ideas of the heroic and the divine
The female figure embodied an ideal of feminine excellence
Art gained from Bronze and Iron Age technologies
After the Akkadian period, Mesopotamian art lacked fundamental innovation
Certain ideas undercut artistic innovation after the Akkadian period
THE ASSYRIAN FINALE
The Mesopotamians equated human greatness with the power of divinely invested kings, and they dramatized this view in art
Assyrian art portrayed a malevolent world


CHAPTER 4   EGYPTIAN ART
Introduction
PREDYNASTIC ART
The Nile dwellers inherited achievements from the Near East
FROM THE OLD TO THE NEW KINGDOMS
Egyptian art served the dead
Egyptian art was other-worldly in its orientation
Art reflected Near East influences, and closely imitated Egyptian writing
Egyptian art denied change, and did not change for three thousand years
Egypt's art formulae and methods inhibited innovation
Egyptian artists attempted some degree of realism
THE AMARNA PERIOD
Artists responded to a revolutionary idea
Amarna's studio produced the first Golden Age of Art
After the Amarna Period, art returned to the old order and stagnated


CHAPTER 5   THE PRE-GREEK ARTS OF THE AEGEAN
                          & THE ARCHAIC PERIOD OF GREEK ART

Introduction
THE PRE-GREEK ART OF THE AEGEAN
Cycladic art shows interest in the carved nude
Minoan frescoes were focused on life
Minoan sculpture reflected a view of man in command of beasts
Mycenaean art transmitted Minoan art to mainland Greece -- without innovation
The Greeks emerged from their Dark Age making rudimentary artworks
THE GEOMETRIC PERIOD
Geometric Period art features simple, rectilinear figures
THE ARCHAIC PERIOD
Art of the Archaic Period advanced in quality
Advances in art reflected the Greeks' intellectual growth
Painting advanced from geometric patterns to pictures of the visible world
The Greeks' glorification of the nude reflects their man-worship
Statuary began with, then abandoned, the Egyptian canon
The ideal figure in action was developed in relief sculpture
Development of the female figure in the Archaic Period


CHAPTER 6   THE CLASSICAL AGE
Introduction
Preamble: The evidence
THE FIFTH CENTURY APEX
Greek art in the Classical Age achieved a new order of excellence
Classical Age art reflects the Greeks' devotion to reason
Art gained objective standards and principles:
  • Realistic types
  • Visual unity
  • Visual harmony
  • Visual balance
  • Focal point
Artists mastered the human figure
Art fully embodied an ideal of human efficacy
The female nude emerged in the Classical Age
Portraiture combined individuating realism with the Greek ideal
Painting gained greater realism
Drawing more accurately described a three-dimensional world
Color and tonal values were developed to re-create solid, lit objects
White-ground vases display the best of Classical Age painting
The art of the Parthenon exemplifies the Greeks' Classical aesthetics
The Classical sense of life
THE FOURTH CENTURY SHIFT
Skepticism altered the Classical outlook
The Greeks began to lose sight of their heroic ideal


CHAPTER 7   THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD
Introduction
HELLENISTIC ACHIEVEMENTS
Art benefited from Classical learning and advances in the natural and applied sciences
Painting continued to advance technically
The climax of portrait sculpture
Figures gained greater realism and expressivenenss
HELLENISTIC DECLINE
The Classical vision faded
The Greeks surrendered their art

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CHAPTER 8   ROMAN ART
Introduction
Preamble: The sources
Roman art was derived from Greek art
ROMAN BEGINNINGS
Pre-Republican tribes based their art on Greek models
REPUBLICAN AND IMPERIAL ARTS
​The Romans gained from Greek culture
Greek art often served as decoration and propaganda
​Art in the Early Empire Period reflected a view of the good life
The Romans combined styles from different periods and cultures

Roman art  mixed borrowed styles with Naturalism
The Roman view of life and the world
Roman portraiture was based on Naturalism and the Stoic sense of life
LATE EMPIRE PERIOD DEVELOPMENTS
​Portrait sculpture was altered
Funerary painting embodied an ideal of the afterlife
The Romans lost sight of the world: relief sculpture declined
Art was transformed in Christianized Rome
Pagan art was repurposed to represent Christian subjects and themes
Changes in Christianized painting paralleled those in relief sculpture

WINDOWS ON HUMANITY -- RECAP

APPENDIX A:   WHAT IS ART?
The value of contemplating art

APPENDIX B:   WHY IS THERE ART?
  • Symbolic art: an early attempt to visually represent thoughts
  • Allegorical art dramatized more complex ideas
  • Art provided a vision of the possible
  • Art in the service of gods
  • Didactic and propaganda art
  • Narrative art dramatized stories
  • Art made to express the subjective
  • Art to record the visible

GLOSSARY

INDEX

LINK TO REVIEWS

​testimonials

The WINDOWS ON HUMANITY manuscript was given to a focus group for feedback about the end-user reading experience. The group included freshmen college students, college teachers, adult professionals and a retiree. In addition to their input about the structure and clarity of the content, readers gave unanimously positive responses to the book.  Here are some of their remarks:

" This book is magnificent and in itself has been fuel for the soul for me. ... Reading this has been a labor of love. ... My overall takeaway, is you have given me a profoundly deeper love of high Classical art, and the magnificence of man, and you have inspired me to dig deeper into my creative process and integrate all this new knowledge of art! Thank you. ... I want to share with you that the summary drew tears. Eloquent, magnificent and tragic."
-- Fawaz A., San Francisco, CA

​"The book is immediately interesting as the text jumps right into evaluating artist's intentions and lifestyle based on the first known art. Prehistoric art never seemed interesting to me until reading this book and seeing what a true historian and art historian can find in a simple cave painting. The way the book builds on itself as each time period is addressed is fascinating. Being able to see the connections between Cro-Magnon art and Egyptian art and so forth connects not only art but history in a whole new way. ... I have learned an abundance about the major civilizations of western history, as well a better connection / understanding of the timeline of western history. Specifically, the relationship between Greek and Roman history, as well as the connection between Egyptian and Greek history." 
-- Marissa S., Indian Trail, NC

"The text and images create a nice balance -- too much of one or the other is not well suited for art history." -- Deanna M., Seattle, WA


"I was very impressed with the scope of this book and how well researched it is. And you have some great quotes! I learned a great deal from your book. It's very powerful and I find myself using this information as a base for news or art I run across. " -- Ginger C., Los Palos Verdes, CA

"The entire book was wonderful help in understanding not only art history, but history in general. ... Your subheadings were helpful indicators of what is to come. The questions at the end of each chapter are thought-provoking and challenging. I can't wait to have my own copy of this book!"
-- Catherine D., San Diego, CA

​"All of the book is well integrated in support of the main ideas." Brad B., San Francisco, CA
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"... I came away with what I think is a clear understanding of the value of the art in understanding each historical period ... I'd recommend it to art or history teachers at high school and college level and to homeschooling parents or other adults with a strong interest in art or history ... "
​-- Molly J., Eastsound, WA

​"I learned a lot about the origins of art, through the Cro-Magnon to Mesopotamia and Egypt. I found the role of economic / philosophical freedom in the development and destruction of art, as well as the relationship between the technical abilities and greatness of man, particularly interesting. ... I really enjoyed this text -- it was a very interesting and comprehensive look at the historic trends in art and in culture. ... I look forward to purchasing the finished copy." -- Hayden M., Tuscaloosa, AL



 Image Credits. Top: Marine procession. Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus. Image:  Cassius Ahenobarbus  (CC BY-SA 3.0).    Bottom: Census Scene. Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus. Image: Jastrow. (CC PD-self)​

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