Abstract
This paper examines the Christian art of the first five centuries C.E., which is potentially a source of a great deal of data and information about Christianity during the period in question. The author explains that the origins and development of early Christian art are indebted to a number of factors. These factors are comprised of certain styles associated with certain regions and practices, converts to Christianity adopting pagan practices, and to more than purely aesthetic functions such as pedagogical uses. The paper concludes that early Christian art did not spring into existence without roots. Rather it can be seen as an undisrupted continuous seam going back to ancient religions and practices.

From the Paper
"Textual evidence seems to suggest that certain theologians did indeed go against the production of cultic art objects for the practice of idolatry while perhaps understanding the difference between that and the functional uses of art whether it was decorative, symbolic or didactic. Christians probably understood that smaller objects did not have much significance. So when larger objects did come on to the scene it was not of a great shock since they were not seen as objects of worship and "therefore presented no danger of idolatry." Some scholars believe that many of the Christian converts that came from a polytheistic background abandoned their old practices since they would recognize it was incompatible with their new faith."

Tags:antiquity, theologian, affiliation, landscape, Alexandria, nimbus, Rabbinic, catacomb, motif

Abstract
This paper describes Raphael's famous painting "Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints." The paper provides a history of the painting. The author analyzes its composition and colors as well as the conservative style of the painting and its classical details.

From the Paper
"Rafaello Sanzio, known as Raphael, painted the "Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints" early in his career The painting was an altarpiece executed for the small Franciscan convent of Saint Antonio de Padova in Perugia and hung in the part of the church reserved for the worship of nuns. (Metropolitan Museum of Art) Also known as the Colonna Madonna or Altarpiece, a reference to Raphael's patrons, the powerful Colonna family the work consists of two main sections..."

Tags:Raphael, Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints

Abstract
The display of Impressionist paintings in France in 1874 led to ridicule, but within twenty years Impressionists were to garner a large and permanent public following. This essay clearly describes how Impressionists played with lighting, color, brushstrokes, subject matter, and scenery to revolutionize art, specifically using Monet's Rouen Cathedral series to examine these changes.

From the Paper
"Impressionism was the first modernist art movement and to this day it remains the most popular (Hughes 113). Early Impressionism resulted from the work of many different painters, all sharing a common philosophy and technique and loosely organized as a group. It was at its strongest between the 1860s and 1890s and included many renowned painters such as Monet, Degas, Gauguin, Renoir, and Seurat. The fist public display of Impressionist paintings in 1874 disturbed the tradition-bound French Academy of Fine Arts and led to ridicule, but within twenty years Impressionists were to garner a large public following and were never again to be the "outcasts." Later Impressionist works built on and expanded the original style of the early artists, and in many cases the early Impressionist artists re-invented themselves and expanded their repertoire to show new forms and techniques of the movement. For these reasons Impressionism remains hugely successful even today, and works by artists in this genre are highly collectible and studied."

Tags:art, impressionism, modern, Monet, Renoir, Gaugin, revolutionize, ridicule, France

Abstract
The author states that in the painting "The Luncheon of the Boating Party", Renoir shows the splendor and joy of everyday life. This painting marks the culmination of Renoir's Impressionist period. This painting was a huge undertaking for the artist. The author describes in detail the new method of combining colors that Renoir used to give the feeling of natural brilliant light.

From the Paper
"A prime example of the artist's ability to capture the joy of a single moment on canvas can be seen in The Luncheon of the Boating Party. This painting depicts the carefree gathering of French revelers, having just concluded a convivial meal. Renoir recreates the beauty of the river scene with the posing of models, all friends of the artist; his use of vibrant color applied in small brush strokes to recreate natural light and a richness in texture, and his use of contrasting white with black. All these elements come together to show one of life's greatest pleasures; the joy of eating and drinking with friends."

Tags:french, eating, drinking, friends, impressionist, monet, sisley, manet, technique, dabbing, color, dots, dance, hall, working, class, family, strokes, colors, natural, light, optical, mixture

Abstract
This paper examines how the exchange of artisitic ideas between Ancient Egypt and the Mediteranean is undisputed and how a comparison of fresco is also relevant and illuminating. It briefly examines two Egyptian Fresco's from the New Kingdom period, namely "Fowling Scene" and "Musicians and Dancers", comparing and contrasting the Egyptian styles with three Minoan frescoes including the so-called "Toreador Fresco", as well as "Young Fisherman with His Catch" and "Landscape with Swallows".

From the Paper
"The vivid artistic detailing of Fowling Scene, in addition to the motion and vitally portrayed by the artist(s), is astonishing. The boat on which the family travel is richly detailed, even the wood grain is observable. Papyrus plants grow in a great swath, surging out of the water to the left of the boat. Below the boat, in the water, the details of the fish "show a naturalism based on careful observation" (67). In his right hand, Nebamun clutches three birds he has just caught, while his left hand grips his throwing stick. A large number of birds have been startled into action out of the papyrus swamp, and are shown both perching in various places, as well as in flight. Most curiously, an orange cat, perched on a bowing papyrus stem, has caught a large bird in its mouth and two more in its claws."

Tags:aegean, catch, dancers, fisherman, fowling, landscape, musicians, scene, swallows, toreador, young

Abstract
The works of the renowned Dutch master Vermeer (1632-1675) are comparable to Japanese art due to their dual appreciation and representation of unfilled space. He depicts subtle shades of luminous highlights, all incorporated within a meticulously ordered arrangement. The paper discusses the paintings 'The Geographer,' 'The Woman Holding the Balance' and 'The Music Lesson' - all of which echo ideas established by Japanese art. It shows that these paintings reveal an era where the general interest lay in exquisite furniture, beautiful women and extravagant attires. These carefully observed and accurately drawn paintings of the 17th-century were branded by a geometrical sense of balance, order and refinement; their suggestiveness analogous to the Japanese design.

From the Paper
"The Japanese aesthetic, Wabi-Sabi, is the ability to discover the beauty of imperfection. Similar to Zen Buddhism, Wabi-Sabi cherishes qualities that are earthy, modest, rustic and unassuming. Ordinary items are appreciated for their seeming beauty, such as budding flowers. Many Japanese landscape paintings portray nature when it's growing instead of when it's full-blossomed; it allows for our imagination to finish what it began. It stirs up the internal quintessence of an object but only provides a subtle presence; rationale is secondary to perception; mood means more than an accurate depiction. This deliberately suggestive style allows for the beauty incompleteness and omission to be valued."

Tags:camera, obscura, tranquility, The, Milkmaid

Abstract
This paper explores the differences in High Renaissance and Mannerist portraiture through an examination of two key figures in the history of art, Raphael and Bronzino. It also shows how the compare and contrast method is a useful technique for students of art history to focus on the most important aspects and key differences of each respective work and artist.

From the Paper
"Raphael's 1514 oil work Baldassare Castiglione is an excellent example of the artist's portraiture. The subject, the above-mentioned friend of Raphael, Baldassare Castiglione, is portrayed from the waist up, or in half-length. Castiglione is richly garbed in darkly coloured clothing of black and purple, and capped in a dark coloured hat. The life-like Castiglione beholds the viewer directly, though his body and head are not rigidly frontal, but at a three-quarter view; one is reminded of the three-quarter view used in the Mona Lisa. Indeed, such a view became popular in the 1500's. Baldassare Castiglione is one of several works Raphael painted in Rome."

Tags:renaissance, mannerist, rome

Abstract
This paper traces the development of the history of art in Ancient Mesopotamia through a specific study of four well known and well preserved pieces of art. The range of dates runs from 2600 B.C. with an examination of the "Standard of Ur", through to 260 A.D. and the "Triumph of Shapur I". It looks at how this period of art history is critical to an understanding of the art of the ancient world and logically precedes Egyptian, Minoan, Greek and Roman Art.

From the Paper
"Of Standard of Ur's two main sides, the 'war side' has immediately recognizable conventions similar to those found in Triumph of Shapur I; four-wheeled war chariots ride down enemies, the bodies of which are trampled beneath the hoofs of the animals. The depictions of war and victory are common motifs in Mesopotamian art. Here, as in Triumph of Shapur I, conventionalization is used, and the four bodies trampled beneath the war chariots, like the trampled body of the Roman soldier from Bishapur, represent the many killed. On the middle tier, the victorious army leads away naked and defeated captives."

Tags:ashurnasirpal, shapur, standard, ur

Abstract
Using a compare and contrast methodology, this paper explores the propagandist values and themes present in both "The Death of General Wolfe" by Benjamin West, and "Oath of the Horatii" by Jacques-Louis David, as well as examining the artistic and stylistic differences of each.

From the Paper
"Eighteenth century virtues such as honour, valour, and love of one's country were believed to produce great people and great deeds (Gardner's 846). Other virtues including courage, patriotism, and self-sacrifice were considered 'natural' and find their place in patriotic or propagandist works of art. The theme of the 'death in battle' of young military heroes has been expressed since antiquity, both in statuary and other forms of art. This same theme of the death of a military hero is portrayed in Benjamin West's The Death of General Wolfe."

Tags:benjamin, classical, david, death, general, horatii, jacques, louis, neo, oath, west, wolfe

Abstract
This paper provides an examination and analysis of Dali's famous painting, with prime concentration upon the elements and historical aspects of the particular piece of art. It discusses how his inspiration for "Metamorphosis of Narcissus" came from a conversation overheard between two fishermen discussing a local man who would stare at himself in a mirror for hours.

From the Paper
"Salvador Dali was a Spanish artist who is considered to be one of the most impressive artists of the 20th century. His inspiration for Metamorphosis of Narcissus came from a conversation overheard between two fishermen discussing a local man who would stare at himself in a mirror for hours. One of the men described the man as having a "bulb in his head"; a common conversation meaning that he was mentally ill. Dali combined this image with the ancient Greek myth of Narcissus."

Tags:analyze, art, aspects, elements, historical