Editing Art (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of art}}

[[File:Loewenmensch1.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.8|''{{lang|de|[[Löwenmensch]]}} figurine'', Germany, between 35,000 and 41,000 years old. One of the oldest-known examples of an artistic representation and the oldest confirmed statue ever discovered.<ref>"Lion man takes pride of place as oldest statue" by Rex Dalton, ''Nature'' 425, 7 (4 September 2003) doi:10.1038/425007a also [http://www.nature.com/news/2003/030904/full/news030901-6.html Nature News 4 September 2003] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160318075014/http://www.nature.com/news/2003/030904/full/news030901-6.html |date=18 March 2016 }}</ref>]]

A shell engraved by ''[[Homo erectus]]'' was determined to be between 430,000 and 540,000 years old.<ref name="homoerectus">{{cite web |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22429983.200-shell-art-made-300000-years-before-humans-evolved.html |title=Shell 'Art' Made 300,000 Years Before Humans Evolved |date=3 December 2014 |website=[[New Scientist]] |publisher=[[Reed Business Information]] Ltd |access-date=24 August 2017 |archive-date=6 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150606151439/https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22429983.200-shell-art-made-300000-years-before-humans-evolved.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A set of eight 130,000 years old white-tailed eagle talons bear cut marks and abrasion that indicate manipulation by neanderthals, possibly for using it as jewelry.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/science-neanderthal-eagle-claw-necklace-krapina-croatia-02588.html|title=130,000-Year-Old Neanderthal 'Eagle Claw Necklace' Found in Croatia|work=Sci-News.com|date=11 March 2015|access-date=7 May 2021|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414034753/https://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/science-neanderthal-eagle-claw-necklace-krapina-croatia-02588.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A series of tiny, drilled snail shells about 75,000 years old—were discovered in a South African cave.<ref>{{cite web| last = Radford| first = Tim |url = https://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/artsandhumanities/story/0,12241,1193237,00.html| title = "World's Oldest Jewellery Found in Cave"| date = 16 April 2004| access-date = 18 January 2008| archive-date = 8 February 2008| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080208180701/https://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/artsandhumanities/story/0,12241,1193237,00.html| url-status = live |work = Guardian Unlimited}}</ref> Containers that may have been used to hold paints have been found dating as far back as 100,000 years.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/science/14paint.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/science/14paint.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited |work=The New York Times |title=African Cave Yields Evidence of a Prehistoric Paint Factory |date=13 October 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The oldest piece of art found in Europe is the [[Riesenhirschknochen der Einhornhöhle]], dating back 51,000 years and made by Neanderthals.

Sculptures, [[cave paintings]], rock paintings and [[petroglyphs]] from the [[Upper Paleolithic]] dating to roughly 40,000 years ago have been found,<ref>{{cite journal |title=World's oldest art found in Indonesian cave |url=https://www.nature.com/news/world-s-oldest-art-found-in-indonesian-cave-1.16100 |journal=Nature |date=8 October 2014 |doi=10.1038/nature.2014.16100 |last1=Cyranoski |first1=David |s2cid=189968118 |access-date=12 October 2014 |archive-date=11 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011012358/https://www.nature.com/news/world-s-oldest-art-found-in-indonesian-cave-1.16100 |url-status=live }}</ref> but the precise meaning of such art is often disputed because so little is known about the cultures that produced them.

The first undisputed sculptures and similar art pieces, like the [[Venus of Hohle Fels]], are the numerous objects found at the [[Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura]] UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]], where the oldest non-stationary works of human art yet discovered were found, in the form of carved animal and humanoid figurines, in addition to the oldest musical instruments unearthed so far, with the artifacts dating between 43,000 and 35,000 BC, so being the first centre of human art.<ref name = "unesco">{{cite web |url = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/229 |title = Place Stanislas, Place de la Carrière and Place d'Alliance in Nancy |website = UNESCO World Heritage Centre |publisher = United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization |access-date = 17 October 2021 |archive-date = 1 January 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060101181304/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/229 |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/oldest-figurative-art-now-world-treasure-180964035/ | title=World's Oldest Figurative Art is Now an Official World Treasure | access-date=24 December 2022 | archive-date=5 December 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205185627/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/oldest-figurative-art-now-world-treasure-180964035/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-18196349 | title=Earliest music instruments found | work=BBC News | date=24 May 2012 | archive-date=11 April 2022 | access-date=24 December 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411122409/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-18196349 | url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfnm|Hodge|2017|1p=12|Fortenberry|2017|2pp=1 & 2}}

[[File:Lascaux painting.jpg|thumb|right|[[Cave paintings]], Lascaux, France, c. 17,000 BCE]]

Many great traditions in art have a foundation in the art of one of the great ancient civilizations: [[Ancient Egypt]], [[Mesopotamia]], [[History of Iran|Persia]], India, China, Ancient Greece, Rome, as well as [[Inca civilization|Inca]], [[Maya civilization|Maya]], and [[Olmec]]. Each of these centers of early civilization developed a unique and characteristic style in its art. Because of the size and duration of these civilizations, more of their art works have survived and more of their influence has been transmitted to other cultures and later times. Some also have provided the first records of how artists worked. For example, this period of 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.<ref>Gombrich, pp. 83, 75–115, 132–141, 147–155, 163, 627.</ref>

In [[Byzantine art|Byzantine]] and [[Medieval art]] of the Western Middle Ages, much art focused on the expression of subjects about biblical and religious culture, and used styles that showed the higher glory of a heavenly world, such as the use of gold in the background of paintings, or glass in mosaics or windows, which also presented figures in idealized, patterned (flat) forms. Nevertheless, a classical realist tradition persisted in small Byzantine works, and realism steadily grew in the art of [[Catholic Europe]].<ref>Gombrich, pp. 86–89, 135–141, 143, 179, 185.</ref>

[[Renaissance art]] had a greatly increased emphasis on the realistic depiction of the material world, and the place of humans in it, reflected in the corporeality of the human body, and development of a systematic method of [[graphical perspective]] to depict recession in a three-dimensional picture space.<ref name="Nichols2012">{{cite book|author=Tom Nichols|title=Renaissance Art: A Beginner's Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dzMRpHo0QHUC|year= 2012|publisher=Oneworld Publications|isbn=978-1-78074-178-9|access-date=26 May 2018|archive-date=5 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805225449/https://books.google.com/books?id=dzMRpHo0QHUC|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Tugra Mahmuds II.gif|right|thumb|The stylized signature of [[Sultan]] [[Mahmud II]] of the [[Ottoman Empire]] was written in [[Islamic calligraphy]]. It reads "Mahmud Khan son of Abdulhamid is forever victorious".]]
[[File:Great Mosque of Kairouan Panorama - Grande Mosquée de Kairouan Panorama.jpg|thumb|The [[Great Mosque of Kairouan]] in Tunisia, also called the Mosque of Uqba, is one of the most significant and best preserved artistic and architectural examples of early great mosques. Dated in its present state from the 9th century, it is the ancestor and model of all the mosques in the western Islamic lands.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IaM9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA104|title=The Genius of Arab Civilization: Source of Renaissance|year= 1983|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0262081368|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=23 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123155340/https://books.google.com/books?id=IaM9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA104|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

In the east, [[Islamic art]]'s rejection of [[iconography]] led to emphasis on [[Islamic geometric patterns|geometric patterns]], [[Islamic calligraphy|calligraphy]], and [[Islamic architecture|architecture]].<ref>Gombrich, pp. 127–128</ref> Further east, religion dominated artistic styles and forms too. India and Tibet saw emphasis on painted sculptures and dance, while religious painting borrowed many conventions from sculpture and tended to bright contrasting colors with emphasis on outlines. China saw the flourishing of many art forms: jade carving, bronzework, pottery (including the stunning [[Terracotta Army]] of [[Emperor Qin]]<ref>Gombrich, pp. 634–635</ref>), poetry, calligraphy, music, painting, drama, fiction, etc. Chinese styles vary greatly from era to era and each one is traditionally named after the ruling dynasty. So, for example, [[Tang dynasty]] paintings are monochromatic and sparse, emphasizing idealized landscapes, but [[Ming dynasty]] paintings are busy and colorful, and focus on telling stories via setting and composition.<ref name="Watson1995">{{cite book|author=William Watson|title=The Arts of China 900–1620|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T-v5jUKaCxYC|year=1995|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-09835-8|access-date=26 May 2018|archive-date=5 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805225448/https://books.google.com/books?id=T-v5jUKaCxYC|url-status=live}}</ref> Japan names its styles after imperial dynasties too, and also saw much interplay between the styles of calligraphy and painting. [[Woodblock printing]] became important in Japan after the 17th century.<ref>Gombrich, p. 155, p. 530.</ref>
[[File:Ma Lin Guests.jpg|thumb|Chinese painting by [[Song dynasty]] artist Ma Lin, {{c.|1250|lk=no}}. 24.8&nbsp;× 25.2&nbsp;cm]]

The western [[Age of Enlightenment]] in the 18th century saw artistic depictions of physical and rational certainties of the [[clockwork universe]], as well as politically revolutionary visions of a post-monarchist world, such as [[William Blake|Blake]]'s portrayal of Newton as a divine geometer,<ref name="Moore2010">{{cite book|author=Colin Moore|title=Propaganda Prints: A History of Art in the Service of Social and Political Change|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l0KAlsQ2Yj4C|year= 2010|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1-4081-0591-7|page=76|access-date=26 May 2018|archive-date=5 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805225447/https://books.google.com/books?id=l0KAlsQ2Yj4C|url-status=live}}</ref> or [[Jacques-Louis David|David]]'s propagandistic paintings. This led to [[Romanticism|Romantic]] rejections of this in favor of pictures of the emotional side and individuality of humans, exemplified in the novels of [[Goethe]]. The late 19th century then saw a host of [[artistic movements]], such as [[academic art]], [[Symbolism (movement)|Symbolism]], [[impressionism]] and [[fauvism]] among others.<ref>Gombrich, pp. 394–395, 519–527,  573–575.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Age of Enlightenment An Anthology Prepared for the Enlightenment Book Club|url=https://www.rosenfels.org/The_Age_Of_Enlightenment_Anthology.pdf|access-date=26 May 2018|pages=1–45|archive-date=27 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180527201357/https://www.rosenfels.org/The_Age_Of_Enlightenment_Anthology.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The history of 20th-century art is a narrative of endless possibilities and the search for new standards, each being torn down in succession by the next. Thus the parameters of [[Impressionism]], [[Expressionism]], [[Fauvism]], [[Cubism]], [[Dadaism]], [[Surrealism]], etc. cannot be maintained very much beyond the time of their invention. Increasing [[globalization|global]] interaction during this time saw an equivalent influence of other cultures into Western art. Thus, Japanese woodblock prints (themselves influenced by Western Renaissance draftsmanship) had an immense influence on impressionism and subsequent development. Later, [[African sculpture]]s were taken up by [[Picasso]] and to some extent by [[Matisse]]. Similarly, in the 19th and 20th centuries the West has had huge impacts on Eastern art with originally western ideas like [[Communism]] and [[Post-Modernism]] exerting a powerful influence.<ref>{{cite book|title=The New York Times Book Review|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vwEjAQAAMAAJ|volume=1, 84|year=1979|publisher=The New York Times Company|page=30|access-date=26 May 2018|archive-date=5 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805225447/https://books.google.com/books?id=vwEjAQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Modernism]], the idealistic search for truth, gave way in the latter half of the 20th century to a realization of its unattainability. [[Theodor W. Adorno]] said in 1970, "It is now taken for granted that nothing which concerns art can be taken for granted any more: neither art itself, nor art in relationship to the whole, nor even the right of art to exist."<ref>Adorno, Theodor W., ''Aesthetic Theory'', (1970 in German)</ref> [[Relativism]] was accepted as an unavoidable truth, which led to the period of [[contemporary art]] and [[List of postmodern critics|postmodern criticism]], where cultures of the world and of history are seen as changing forms, which can be appreciated and drawn from only with [[skepticism]] and irony. Furthermore, the separation of cultures is increasingly blurred and some argue it is now more appropriate to think in terms of a global culture, rather than of regional ones.<ref name="Sangeeta2017">{{cite book|author=Sangeeta|title=Development of Modern Art Criticism in India after Independence: Post Independence Indian Art Criticism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vqs4DwAAQBAJ|year=2017|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=978-1-947697-31-7|access-date=26 May 2018|archive-date=5 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805225447/https://books.google.com/books?id=Vqs4DwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

In ''[[The Origin of the Work of Art]]'', Martin Heidegger, a German philosopher and seminal thinker, describes the essence of art in terms of the concepts of being and truth. He argues that art is not only a way of expressing the element of truth in a culture, but the means of creating it and providing a springboard from which "that which is" can be revealed. Works of art are not merely representations of the way things are, but actually produce a community's shared understanding. Each time a new artwork is added to any culture, the meaning of what it is to exist is inherently changed.

Historically, art and artistic skills and ideas have often been spread through trade. An example of this is the [[Silk Road]], where Hellenistic, Iranian, Indian and Chinese influences could mix. [[Greco-Buddhist art|Greco Buddhist art]] is one of the most vivid examples of this interaction. The meeting of different cultures and worldviews also influenced artistic creation. An example of this is the multicultural port metropolis of [[Trieste]] at the beginning of the 20th century, where James Joyce met writers from Central Europe and the artistic development of New York City as a cultural melting pot.<ref>[[Xinru Liu|Liu, Xinru]] "The Silk Road in World History" (New York 2010), pp. 21.</ref><ref>Veronika Eckl "Vom Leben in Cafés und zwischen Buchdeckeln" In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 17.01.2008; Angelo Ara, Claudio Magris "Triest Eine literarische Hauptstadt Mitteleuropas (Trieste: un'identità di frontiera)" (1987).</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://citymonitor.ai/horizons/how-did-new-york-city-become-centre-western-art-world-2466| title = How did New York City become the centre of the western art world?| date = 26 September 2016| access-date = 15 January 2021| archive-date = 21 January 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210121041530/https://citymonitor.ai/horizons/how-did-new-york-city-become-centre-western-art-world-2466| url-status = live}}</ref>