Ancient Greece

Map of Ancient Greece

Topography of the Aegean Sea

The End of the Aegean Bronze Age

Rise of the Athenian Empire

Temple of Aphaia

Aegina, Greece

c. 500-490 BCE, Archaic Period

Artist’s rendering of the temple's facade

The Parthenon

Athens, Greece

5th century BCE, Classical Period

Artist’s rendering of The Parthenon atop the Acropolis in ancient Athens

Parthenon

Erechtheion

Propylaia

Theater of Herodes Atticus

Artist’s rendering of The Parthenon's facade

Recreation of the Athena Parthenos Statue from Athens

Greek Column ‘Orders’ or Styles

The Long-Lasting Acanthus Leaf

Kouros

c. 600 BCE
Archaic

Warrior
(aka Riace Warrior)

c. 460-450 BCE

Classical Period

Lost-Wax Casting Process

Once-Lost Greek Bronzes

Roman Art

The Rise & Fall of Rome

Italian Peninsula, c. 500 BCE

Portrait of a Boy

3rd century BCE

Etruscan

The "Uncanny Valley" Phenomenon

Simplified chart of the Uncanny Valley

The Uncanny Valley as experienced through AI

Head of an Old Man

mid-first century BCE

Late Republic

Torlonia Patrician

1st century CE copy
(80-70 BCE original)

Late Republic / Early Empire

Funerary Mask

c. 125 CE

Roman Period of
Egyptian Art History

Portrait of the Boy Eutyches

c. 100–150 BCE

Roman Period of
Egyptian Art History

Portrait of a Husband & Wife

c. 70-79 CE

Early Empire

West Wall of Room L of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale

c. 50-40 BCE | Late Republic

Pompeii, Italy

Cubiculum (bedroom) from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale

c. 40-50 BCE | Late Republic

Pompeii, Italy

Ixion Room, House of the Vetii

1st century CE | Early Empire

Pompeii, Italy

Examples of Ancient Roman Graffiti

Vibius Restitutus slept here alone and missed his darling Urbana

(Vico d’Eumachia, small room of a possible brothel)

Gaius Pumidius Dipilus was here on October 3rd 78 BC.

(in the Basilica)

Love dictates to me as I write and Cupid shows me the way, but may I die if god should wish me to go on without you.

(in the Basilica)

Whoever loves, let him flourish.  Let him perish who knows not love.  Let him perish twice over whoever forbids love

(House of Caecilius Iucundus)

To the one defecating here.  Beware of the curse.  If you look down on this curse, may you have an angry Jupiter for an enemy

(House of Pascius Hermes; left of the door)

Augustus of Primaporta

c. 20 BCE

Early Empire

Revealed Polychromy of Augustus

The Myth of Marble

Forum of Augustus

Rome, Italy

c. 20 BCE | Early Empire

Artist's Rendering of the Forum

Floorplan of the Forum

Colosseum

Rome, Italy

c. 70-80 CE | Early Empire

Artist's Rendering of the Colosseum with Cutaway

View from Inside the Colosseum Ruins

Trajan's Column

Rome, Italy

115 CE

High Empire

Model of the Column's Spiral Staircase

Detail view of the column

Plaster casts of the column on display

Pantheon

Rome, Italy

125 CE

High Empire

Elevation view of the Pantheon

Aerial view of the Pantheon

Roman Concrete Applications

Dome (with Oculus)

Barrel Vault

Sequence of Groin Vaults

Groin Vault

Overhead plan view the Pantheon

Oculus 'spotlight' effect within the Pantheon

Aula Palatina (a.k.a. Basilica of Constantine)

Tier, Germany | 310 CE, High Empire

Interior of the Basilica

Restored model of the Basilica

Plans for the Basilica

Byzantium

Intro to Byzantium

Map of Constantine's path to becoming Emperor

Spread of Christianity

Santa Costanza

Rome, Italy

c. 354 CE, Early Byzantine

Exterior of Santa Costanza

Interior of Santa Costanza with mosaic decoration

Reconstruction of Original Mausoleum Floor Plan

Floor plan & elevation of Santa Costanza

San Vitale

Ravenna, Italy

526-547 CE, Early Byzantine

The Octagonal Design of San Vitale

Santa Costanza overlay

East-West Stylistic Differences Emerge

The Great Schism of Christianity

A politically, culturally, & religiously divided Rome

The Remains of Rome, 526 CE

Justinian expansion of the Byzantine Empire

Hagia Sophia

Istanbul, Turkey

533-537 CE, Justinian

Artist's rendering of Old St. Peter's Basilica

Interior of Hagia Sophia

Floor plan of Hagia Sofia (w/ Santa Costanza overlay)

Artist's rendering of the original Hagia Sophia interior

Theodora & Her Attendants

San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy

c. 547 CE, Justinian

Mosaic of Justinian opposite of Theodora's within the church

Interior view of San Vitale

Making a Roman-Style Mosaic

Roman Naturalism vs Byzantine Abstraction

Four Icons from a Pair of Doors
Originally from Crete (possibly)

late-15th century CE

Late Byzantine

Paintings & Icons

The Baptism
(aka Epiphany)
late-15th century CE

Late Byzantine

The Qualities of Tempera vs Oil Paints

Harrowing of Hell
(aka Anastasis, or Resurrection)

late-15th century CE

Late Byzantine

The Gilding Process

Saint Nicholas

late-15th century CE

Late Byzantine

The Deësis Mosaic

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

13th century CE, Late Byzantine

Contextual view of the Mosaic

Detail from the Deësis Mosaic

Christ as Savior of Souls

Saint Clement, Ohrid, Macedonia

14th century CE, Late Byzantine

Evolution of Byzantine style

Islamic
Art

Hadith Frequently Quoted to Justify Violence:

Paradise is under the shadow of the swords.

Expansion of the Islamic World

The Islamic Empire in 750 CE

Quran Page

9th-10th cent CE

Abbasid Caliphate

The Beauty and Skill of the Handwritten Quran

Example of Arabic calligraphy

Symbols & logos using Arabic calligraphy

'Basmala' in simple calligraphy

On Arabic Calligraphy

"Western" Islamic Calligraphy

Mosaic Mihrab

Isfahan, Persia (originally)

c. 1354 CE, Sarbedaran Period

Example of a full qibla wall with minbar & mihrab

Mosaic Patterns on Exterior of Qubbat As-Sakhrah

Examples of Islamic Geometric Design for Zellij Tiles

Making Islamic Geometric Designs

Muqarnas Ceiling from Shah Mosque, Isfahan, Iran

Qubbat As-Sakhrah, قبة الصخرة‎  (aka "Dome of the Rock")
Jerusalem, West Bank

c. 687-692 CE, Umayyad Caliphate

History & Beauty of Qubbat As-Sakhrah

Cross-Section of Quabbat As-Sakhrah Interior

Umayyad Mosque (aka "Great Mosque of Damascus")
Damascus, Syria

706-715 CE, Umayyad Caliphate

Aerial View of the Umayyad Mosque

Panoramic views of the Umayyad Mosque Courtyard

Example of a Hypostyle Spaces

Interior of a mosque in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Umayyad Mosque Interior

Mosque of Córdoba
Córdoba, Spain

8th-10th centuries CE, Abbasid/Córdoba Caliphate

Expansion of the Mosque of Córdoba over time

Street-level view of the Mosque of Córdoba

Courtyard of the Mosque of Córdoba

Interior of the Mosque of Córdoba

Qibla wall of the Mosque of Córdoba (minbar out of frame)

Mihrab of the Mosque of Córdoba

Gilded dome above the qibla wall

Evidence of cultural shifts inside the Mosque of Córdoba

Baroque chapel installed in the center of the former mosque

Baroque chapel installed in the center of the former mosque

Complex C (The Great Pyramid)
La Venta, Mexico

c. 350 BCE | Olmec

3D Model of Complex A (foreground) and Complex-C

Overview of the Olmec people

Jadeite Mask

c. 900-400 BCE

Olmec

Deep Dive into a piece of Olmec art

Example of later Maya jade carving

Colossal Head
(Monument 1)
La Venta, Mexico

c. 900-400 BCE

Olmec

Colossal Head During Excavation

Olmec Rubber Ball

Map of the Olmec Heartland

Ball Court
Copán, Honduras

738 CE | Mayan

Xochicalco Ballcourt

Basic Design of the Mesoamerican Ballcourt

Ballgame Hoop

The Myth of the Hero Twins

Mural from El Tajín depicting Human Sacrifice

Reviving the Mesoamerican Ball Game

Map of Teotihuacán within Modern Mexico

Teotihuacán Territory c. 400 CE

Temple of the Feathered Serpent (model)
Teotihuacan / Ciudad de México

c. 150-200 CE

Temple of the Plumed Serpent Placement

Detail of Serpent Head Sculptures

Diagram of Newly Discovered Tunnel Beneath the Temple

Teotihuacán
Ciudad de México

c. 50-250 CE

Archaeological Map of the Teotihuacán Excavation

Architectural Model of Teotihuacán

Model of the Pyramid of the Sun

Artist's rendering of how the city may have looked

The Astrological Features of Teotihuacan

The Pyramid of the Sun seen from the Pyramid of the Moon

Aerial view of both Pyramids and the Avenue of the Dead

Castillo
Chichén Itzá, Mexico

c. 800-900 CE | Maya

Castillo before excavation

Red Jaguar Statue found in top room of Castillo

Inside El Castillo

Tikal Temple 1 (aka Temple of the Giant Jaguar)
Tikal, Guatemala

c. 732 CE | Maya

Walking through Tikal

Tikal Aerial View

LiDAR Mapping of Tikal

LiDAR Mapping of Tikal

LiDAR Mapping of Tikal

Tikal Revealed by LiDAR

The founding of Tenochtitlán,
(folio 2 recto of the Codex Mendoza)

1541–1542 CE

Aztec/Mexica

Ink and color on paper

Mictlantecuhtli and Quetzalcoatl (folio 56 of the Borgia Codex)

from Puebla or Tlaxcala, Mexico

ca. 1400–1500 CE | Aztec/Mexica | Mineral and vegetable pigments on deerskin

Templo Mayor
(Reconstruction view with cutaway)
Tenochtitlan, Mexico City, Mexico

Aztec/Mexica

ca. 1400-1500 CE

Excavated view of Templo Mayor Ruins

Reconstruction of the Templo Mayor Complex

Map of Tenochtitlán

Reconstruction of the Great Temple Complex

Cliff Palace
Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

c. 1150-1300 CE | Ancestral Puebloan

Artist's Rendering of Cliff Palace

Examining a Piece of Pueblo Pottery

The Life of Pueblo Pottery

Pueblo Bonito
Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

mid-9th to mid-12th century CE | Ancestral Puebloan

Ancestral Pueblo
Territory

History & Value of Chaco Canyon

Interior room of Pueblo Bonito

Pueblo Bonito Site Plan

Entrance to a Reconstructed Kiva

Diagram of a Kiva

Interior of a Reconstructed Kiva (left) & Great Kiva (right)

Artist's Rendering of Pueblo Bonito