Painting Through The Ages

Stone Age (30,000 b.c. – 2500 b.c.)

There are currently three ages of archaeology: the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. The Stone Age lasted about 3.4 million years, from 30,000 BCE to about 3,000 BCE, and ended with the advent of metalworking.

Mesopotamian (3500 b.c. – 539 b.c.)

The art of Mesopotamia survived from early hunter-gatherer societies all the way to the Bronze Age cultures. Mesopotamia brought cultural developments such as the older examples of writing that we know. Many people believed that Mesopotamian art rivals the art of Ancient Egypt because it is much more sophisticated and elaborate.

Egyptian (3100 b.c. – 30 b.c.)

The civilization of Ancient Egypt ruled the land of the Nile for over 3000 years. Their art style didn’t change very much throughout this time period. This style of art began around 3000 B.C. Most of the art had to do with the Ancient Egyptians’ religion, which is why the tomb of a Pharaoh would be filled with paintings and sculptures of what they believed the afterlife would look like.

Greek and Hellenistic (850 b.c. – 31 b.c.)

Alexander The Great and his armies conquered much of the known world and created an empire that stretched from Greece and Asia Minor to India. The contact with foreign parts of the world warped Greek culture and its arts, which in turn gave Greek artists new, exotic influences to work with. Alexander the Great’s death marked the beginning of the Hellenistic period.

Roman (500 b.c. – a.d. 476)

Roman art looked very similar to Greek Art. Although Roman Art was less advanced than Greek Art, people often referred to Roman Art as the lost “Golden Age”. The sculptures that we see in museums are just a small part of all of the art that was made during this times.