3 EARLY VISUAL WORKS OF ART IN OTHER

COUNTRIES

The nature of early art works particularly in Asia and in Europe is briefly discussed here.
It is neither comprehensive nor an exhaustive treatment, since only a few representative areas are
presented where ancient art evolved.

Aim:

1. To provide background information about the early contributions of various peoples

to the world of art.

2. To discuss the nature of early visual works of art in other countries particularly in
Asia and in Europe.

What is Visual Arts?

Visual arts are art forms that focus on the creation of works
which are primarily visual in nature, such as drawing, painting,
photography, printmaking, and filmmaking. Those that involve
three-dimensional objects, such as sculpture and architecture, are
called plastic arts. Many artistic disciplines (performing arts,
language arts, textile arts, and culinary arts) involve aspects of
the visual arts as well as other types, so these definitions are not
strict.
The Mona Lisa is one of the most recognizable artistic paintings in the Western world.

History of visual arts

The great traditions in art have a foundation in the art of one of the ancient civilizations, such as
Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, China, India, Mesopotamia and Mesoamerica.
Ancient Greek art saw a veneration of the human physical form and the development of
equivalent skills to show musculature, poise, beauty and anatomically correct proportions.
Ancient Roman art depicted gods as idealized humans, shown with characteristic distinguishing
features (i.e. Zeus' thunderbolt).
In Byzantine and Gothic art of the Middle Ages, the dominance of the church insisted on the
expression of biblical and not material truths. The Renaissance saw the return to valuation of the
material world, and this shift is reflected in art forms, which show the corporeality of the human
body, and the three-dimensional reality of landscape.
Eastern art has generally worked in a style akin to Western medieval art, namely a concentration
on surface patterning and local colour (meaning the plain colour of an object, such as basic red
for a red robe, rather than the modulations of that colour brought about by light, shade and
reflection). A characteristic of this style is that the local colour is often defined by an outline (a
contemporary equivalent is the cartoon). This is evident in, for example, the art of India, Tibet
and Japan.
Religious Islamic art forbids iconography, and expresses religious ideas through geometry
instead. The physical and rational certainties depicted by the 19th-century Enlightenment were
shattered not only by new discoveries of relativity by Einstein[11] and of unseen psychology by
Freud,[12] but also by unprecedented technological development. Increasing global interaction
during this time saw an equivalent influence of other cultures into Western art.
ASIAN ART
General characteristics: religious in nature.

India
In India and Southeast Asia, all the arts from architecture, painting,
sculpture, music to dance and theater, have their sole theme focused
on the life of the gods, legendary heroes, and mythical beings. The
oriental artists reflect their religious knowledge, beliefs, and
experiences in their art works. The Thai artist portrays the people’s
aim at serving and exalting their faith. In India, art is a “concrete”
example of religion. Sculpture is a religious art in Tibet. Japanese art depicts
purification and self-control. These are the essential aims of Shintoism, the national
religion of Japan.

Dance is highly developed as an art in Indonesia and as a form of entertainment. The Bali
dance is an aristocratic art that stresses refinement of gesture. Bali and Djapara are famous for
their silver ware; Solo and Jojakarta for batik designs; Bandung for ceramics; and Bogo ang
Bangka for tinwork.

In China, pottery is the oldest form of art. During the Shang dynasty (1523 – 1028 B.C.), the
chief artistic productions were vessels and other objects cast in bronze. Glazed ceramic objects
were common during the Hang Dynasty, (202 B.C. to 220 A.D.)