Netherlands VWO 5 Arts (general)

1. Cultural periods (part 1)

Church culture, 11th to 14th century · Court culture, 16th and 17th century · Dutch civic culture, 17th century

• Medieval Art: From Mosaics to Gothic Cathedrals – Medieval art in Europe and the Mediterranean covers about 300 to 1400 CE. Early Christian art took over the Roman basilica and catacomb paintings. Byzantine art added domes, gold mosaics and icons. Romanesque churches (c. 1000–1150) have round arches, thick walls and small windows, with teaching sculpture over doors. Gothic cathedrals (from c. 1140) use pointed arches, ribbed vaults and flying buttresses to build tall, thin walls filled with stained glass. Monks made illuminated manuscripts. Late Gothic painters like Giotto made art more lifelike, opening the way to the Renaissance. Art in this age mainly served faith and taught stories to people who could not read.
• Art History: From Cave Walls to Today – People have made art for at least 40,000 years. Prehistoric art shows animals and hands on cave walls. Ancient civilisations made art for rulers, gods and the afterlife. Classical traditions arose in Greece and Rome, India, China, Africa and the Americas. The Renaissance brought perspective and realism; modern art (from about 1860) broke those rules; contemporary art uses any material. To appreciate any artwork, describe it, analyse its elements, interpret its meaning in its context, and judge why it works.