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A significant portion of Greek visual art was through sculpture.  Their goal through sculpture was to focus on the ideal form.  Males were typically nude to highlight all of the features and the figures were anonymous (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 78)

·   EX: Style of columns: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian

The Greeks tried to emphasize visual perfection in their work.  (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 74)

The Greeks pioneered tragedy as a form of literature.  And set this the form for this genre (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 84)

Sophocles, with his premier work Oedipus the King, was probably the most famous Greek writer (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 84).

Greek music was more “contemplative and served as background music to plays and poetry” (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 110)

Greek music also emphasized melody with little emphasis for harmony (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 89).

Music was very important to Greeks, but on an intellectual, spiritual, and emotional level (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 89)

The painting styles of the Romans are broken down into four styles:

1.          The paintings of this period attempt to mimic marble slabs.

2.          Architectural structures are painted.

3.          This style emphasizes decorative detail

4.          More impressionistic style painting

(Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 118-120)

The Romans preferred to hide the supporting structure, rather than emphasize it as the Greeks (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 111-112)

While the Romans used all of the Greek column types they heavily preferred the Corinthian style.  The Romans tended to build on a much larger scale to achieve a “grand overall effect” (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 111).

“Latin poets celebrated Roman culture while emulating the cultural achievements of their Greek predecessors. (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 123)”

A key writer, Virgil, wrote his epic about the mythological founding of Rome. (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 124)

Roman music was very lively, “loud and aggressive” and was something that would be played at outdoor events (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 110)

Brass instruments were key to their music though they also had a water powered organ (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 110)

Islamic visual arts were limited in expression because they could not contain images of animals or people to prevent idolatry (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 166).  Paintings tended to focus on plants or geometric images (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 166).  As an alternative their calligraphy was a main outlet of creativity since it was not limited due to idolatry issues.

Islamic architecture focused heavily on the mosque.  Intricate designs were done to decorate the interior of the mosques (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 164).   The minarets were developed as a place to call the faithful to prayer (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 161)

Poetry was a key form of Islamic literature.  It started as writing down the poetry that had originally been kept as an oral tradition (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 166).

The oldest form of Arabic poetry is the qasidah ode.  It has three parts: (1) A visit the encampment of a departed loved one; (2) the journey to find her; and (3) a eulogy on a neighbor or tribe.  (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 166)

Music was initially banned due to it being a “frivolous sensuality, and luxury” (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 169).  Music was allowed under the Umayyad dynasty.  Islamic music was ultimately heavily influence by Persian music, and by Greek musical theory. (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 170)

Early Chinese painting significantly took off during the Song period.  The art focused heavily on landscape pictures.  These emphasized the “modest position of humanity in the grand scale of the natural world.”  (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 200)

A key accomplishment of Chinese architecture was the Great Wall of China.

Chinese architecture is built around the idea of symmetry.  The center, or main building, becomes the axis with the rest of the building, or campus, being symmetrical. (Chinese Architecture, N.D., Basic idea and structure section, para. 1)

Early Chinese literature focused on lyric poetry.  This poetry would typically be accompanied by music (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 196).

The Book of Songs is material that was originally passed down orally (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 196)

·      Chinese music was originally categorized by its social function (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 196).

·      Some uses were for worship of ancestors, chanting of poetry, and banquets(Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 196).

·      Confucius had a significant impact on early Chinese music with the ideal the music could educate as well as “induce excited states of emotion” (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 196)

Much of the visual arts of this time reflected a heavy Christian influence.

·      Much sculpture during this time depicted images and stories from the Bible and other religious texts (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 269)

·      Stained glass became a predominant art form as it was frequently used to decorate windows (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 273)

·    Architecture was tall and drew the eyes upward.  “Reflection of religious ideals and enthusiasm” (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 257)

·    Flying buttresses also became a key aspect of Gothic architecture

·    Gothic architecture incorporated numerous windows to allow in substantial light – usually decorated with stained glass (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 273)

The archetype, and most famous piece, from the Gothic time period was Dante’s Divine Comedy.  This piece conveyed a number of popular themes from the time.  The most significant was the religious aspect of the work.  Secondarily, there was also a significant political aspect to the work, reflecting on current issues. (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 275)

·      The music of the Gothic era also had a significant outlet in the religious sphere – and the cathedrals of the time (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 257)

·      There was also the introduction of multiple voice lines in the music as opposed to the “single melodic line” (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 277)

·      The Council of Trent with their proclamation that art should be more understandable had a significant impact on the visual arts (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 359).

·      Caravaggio exemplified this shift with the portrayal of scenes from the Bible in a modern setting (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 364).

·      The paining style of tenebrism also became a significant aspect of paintings during this time (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 365).

·      The architecture of the time, especially religious architecture, was influenced the the “counter-reformation” by the Catholic Church to “arouse piety and religious fervor”  (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 359).

·      An example of this is the addition of porticoes representing “the motherly arms of the church” (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 360).

·      Writers tended to “explore the mysteries of love, both erotic and divine” (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 389).

·      Writers also tended to explore the theme of  “their relationship with God” (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 389)

· EX: The opera was created in 1607.

·  Handel composed the Messiah oratorio epitomizing much of the religious undertones of the day (Benton & Di Yanni, 2005, p. 384).