1.
American Museum of Natural History
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The American Museum of Natural History, located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, is one of the largest museums in the world. The museum has a scientific staff of 225, sponsors over 120 special field expeditions each year. Before construction of the present complex, the museum was housed in the Arsenal building in Central Park. Sherman, A. G. Phelps Dodge, William A. Haines, Charles A. Dana, Joseph H. Choate, Henry G. Stebbins, Henry Parish, the founding of the museum realized the dream of naturalist Dr. Albert S. Bickmore. Bickmore, a student of Harvard zoologist Louis Agassiz, lobbied tirelessly for years for the establishment of a natural history museum in New York. In 1874, the cornerstone was laid for the museums first building, the original Victorian Gothic building, which was opened in 1877, was designed by J. Wrey Mould, both already closely identified with the architecture of Central Park. The original building was eclipsed by the south range of the museum, designed by J. Cleaveland Cady. It extends 700 feet along West 77th Street, with corner towers 150 feet tall and its pink brownstone and granite, similar to that found at Grindstone Island in the St. Lawrence River, came from quarries at Picton Island, New York. The entrance on Central Park West, the New York State Memorial to Theodore Roosevelt and it leads to a vast Roman basilica, where visitors are greeted with a cast of a skeleton of a rearing Barosaurus defending her young from an Allosaurus. The museum is accessible through its 77th street foyer, renamed the Grand Gallery. The hall leads into the oldest extant exhibit in the museum, since 1930, little has been added to the exterior of the original building. The architect Kevin Roche and his firm Roche-Dinkeloo have been responsible for the planning of the museum since the 1990s. Various renovations both interior and exterior have been carried out including improvements to Dinosaur Hall and mural restoration in Roosevelt Memorial Hall, in 1992 the firm designed the new eight story AMNH Library. The museums south façade, spanning 77th Street from Central Park West to Columbus Avenue was cleaned, repaired and re-emerged in 2009, steven Reichl, a spokesman for the museum, said that work would include restoring 650 black-cherry window frames and stone repairs. The museums consultant on the latest renovation is Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. an architectural and engineering firm with headquarters in Northbrook, the museums first two presidents were John David Wolfe and Robert L. Stuart, both among the museums founders. The museum was not put on a sound footing until the appointment of the president, Morris K. Jesup. Jesup was president for over 25 years, overseeing its expansion, the fourth president, Henry Fairfield Osborn, was appointed in 1906 on the death of Jesup. Osborn consolidated the museums expansion, developing it into one of the worlds foremost natural history museums, F. Trubee Davison was president from 1933 to 1951, with A. Perry Osborn as Acting President from 1941 to 1946
2.
Tula (Mesoamerican site)
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The site is located in the city of Tula de Allende in the Tula Valley, in what is now the southwest of the Mexican state of Hidalgo, northwest of Mexico City. The archeological site consists of a museum, remains of a settlement called Tula Chico as well as the main ceremonial site called Tula Grande. The main attraction is the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl which is topped by four, four high basalt columns carved in the shape of Toltec warriors. Tula fell around 1150, but it had significant influence in the following Aztec Empire, the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl is linked to this city, whose worship was widespread from central Mexico to Central America at the time the Spanish arrived. The name Tula is derived from the Nahuatl phrase Tollan Xicocotitlan, however, the Aztecs applied the term Tollan to mean urban center, and it was also used to indicate other sites such as Teotihuacan, Cholula and Tenochtitlan. The inhabitants of Tula were called Toltecs, but that term was later broadened to mean an urban person and this was due to the high respect in which the indigenous peoples in the Valley of Mexico held the ancient civilization before the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. What remains of the ancient city is located in the southwest of what is now the state of Hidalgo,75 km north of Mexico City. Geographically, it is in the Tula River Valley, at the end of the Mesquite Valley in a region that indigenous records called Teotlapan. This area has an elevation of between 2000 and 2200 meters above sea level, with a semi-arid climate and it has only three continuously flowing rivers and streams, the largest of which is the Tula River. There are also a number of arroyos that flow during the rainy season, the modern archeological site consists of the ceremonial center of Tula Grande, an area called Tula Chico, the Jorge R. Acosta site museum and the Guadalupe Mastache Orientation center. The museum is at the entrance to the site and is named one of the archeologists who worked on the site for years. The interior is organized into sections and contains sculpted stone works as well as human remains. The Orientation center also contains a number of pieces as well as posters and more explaining the site’s importance. The city is aligned at 17 degrees east of true north, the ceremonial center of the city is located on a limestone outcropping, with steep banks on three sides, making it defensible. War and sacrifice are prominent themes at the site with images representing warriors such as jaguars, there are also images of serpents eating skeletal figures and skulls in various areas. The main ceremonial area has a number of innovations that indicate societal changes. The large central plaza has space for 100,000 people, the architecture indicates a change from rituals performed by only a few people in closed spaces to large ceremonies to be viewed by many. These ceremonies were dominated by warriors, the major attraction of the site is Pyramid B also called the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl or of the Morning Star
3.
Hidalgo (state)
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Hidalgo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Hidalgo, is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 84 municipalities and its capital city is Pachuca de Soto, in 1869, Benito Juárez created the State of Hidalgo. The state was named after Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the initiator of the Mexican War of Independence and it is located in Eastern Mexico. Hidalgo is bordered by San Luis Potosí and Veracruz on the north, Puebla on the east, Tlaxcala and México on the south, the state has a number of relatively intact native cultures such as the Otomi. The state contains a number of ecotourism, cultural and archeological attractions including the Huasteca area, Hidalgo is known for its mountainous terrain but part of the state is on a coastal plain. With a population of 2.665 million and an area of roughly 20,813 square km, the modern day state of Hidalgo is located within the pre-Hispanic region of Mesoamerica. Numerous migrations of people took place through here, mostly arriving or passing through from the north, with many eventually settling in the Valley of Mexico. The Toltecs initially settled in Xochicoatlán, now the municipality of Molango at the beginning of the 7th century, from here they dispersed to locales such as Huejutla and Tollatzingo where they eventually had their capital of Tollan, today known as Tula. The Toltecs were eventually overrun by Chichimecas, who established their capital in Metztitlán, the Aztecs arrived in the 12th century, initially establishing themselves in Mixquiahuala, then founding Tizayuca later. Eventually, the Aztecs took over most of what is now the portion of the state. After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, the carved out territories for themselves from Aztec lands. Hernán Cortés took possession of lands to the northeast of Mexico City extending into modern Hidalgo state and it also led to a massive decrease in the native population, especially during the governorship of the area by Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán. By the 18th century, the economy of the Hidalgo area was dominated by mining, much of the agricultural production during the colonial period was centered on livestock such as sheep and pigs as well as the making of pulque from the native maguey plant. Mining’s fortunes would rise and fall during the period with one of the most productive eras coming under the control of Pedro Romero de Terreros in the 18th century. These groups and others manage a significant amount of success in maintaining cultural, political, much of the state still maintains a number of strong indigenous identities. However, no battles of the Mexican War of Independence were fought in the state. Instead, a number of operations against local Spaniards were conducted. When the war ended in 1821, the country was divided into a number of states, the modern state of Hidalgo was initially part of the very large territory called “Mexico”, which eventually was split with the remaining portion becoming the modern State of Mexico
4.
Mexico
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Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a federal republic in the southern half of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States, to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean, to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea, and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometers, Mexico is the sixth largest country in the Americas by total area, Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states and a federal district that is also its capital and most populous city. Other metropolises include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana, pre-Columbian Mexico was home to many advanced Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya and Aztec before first contact with Europeans. In 1521, the Spanish Empire conquered and colonized the territory from its base in Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Three centuries later, this territory became Mexico following recognition in 1821 after the colonys Mexican War of Independence. The tumultuous post-independence period was characterized by instability and many political changes. The Mexican–American War led to the cession of the extensive northern borderlands, one-third of its territory. The Pastry War, the Franco-Mexican War, a civil war, the dictatorship was overthrown in the Mexican Revolution of 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the countrys current political system. Mexico has the fifteenth largest nominal GDP and the eleventh largest by purchasing power parity, the Mexican economy is strongly linked to those of its North American Free Trade Agreement partners, especially the United States. Mexico was the first Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and it is classified as an upper-middle income country by the World Bank and a newly industrialized country by several analysts. By 2050, Mexico could become the fifth or seventh largest economy. The country is considered both a power and middle power, and is often identified as an emerging global power. Due to its culture and history, Mexico ranks first in the Americas. Mexico is a country, ranking fourth in the world by biodiversity. In 2015 it was the 9th most visited country in the world, Mexico is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G8+5, the G20, the Uniting for Consensus and the Pacific Alliance. Mēxihco is the Nahuatl term for the heartland of the Aztec Empire, namely, the Valley of Mexico, and its people, the Mexica and this became the future State of Mexico as a division of New Spain prior to independence. It is generally considered to be a toponym for the valley became the primary ethnonym for the Aztec Triple Alliance as a result. After New Spain won independence from Spain, representatives decided to name the new country after its capital and this was founded in 1524 on top of the ancient Mexica capital of Mexico-Tenochtitlan
5.
Mesoamerican chronology
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Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods, the Paleo-Indian, the Archaic, the Preclassic or Formative, the Classic, and the Postclassic. However, this applies to other pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations as well. 3500-2000 BCE During the Archaic Era agriculture was developed in the region, Late in this era, use of pottery and loom weaving became common, and class divisions began to appear. Many of the technologies of Mesoamerica in terms of stone-grinding, drilling. 1800 BCE–200 CE During the Preclassic Era, or Formative Period, large-scale ceremonial architecture, writing, cities, the Olmec civilization developed and flourished at such sites as La Venta and San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán. 200–1000 CE The Classic Era was dominated by numerous independent city-states in the Maya region and also featured the beginnings of political unity in central Mexico, regional differences between cultures grew more manifest. The city-state of Monte Albán dominated the Valley of Oaxaca until the late Classic, highly sophisticated arts such as stuccowork, architecture, sculptural reliefs, mural painting, pottery, and lapidary developed and spread during the Classic era. In the Maya region, numerous city states such as Tikal, Calakmul, Copán, Palenque, Uxmal, Cobá, each of these polities was generally independent, although they often formed alliances and sometimes became vassal states of each other. The main conflict during this period was between Tikal and Calakmul, who fought a series of wars over the course of more than half a millennium, each of these states declined during the Terminal Classic and were eventually abandoned. This is sometimes seen as a period of increased chaos and warfare, the Postclassic is often viewed as a period of cultural decline. However, it was a time of technological advancement in architecture, engineering, metallurgy came into use for jewelry and some tools, with new alloys and techniques being developed in a few centuries. The Postclassic was a period of rapid movement and population growth — especially in Central Mexico post-1200 —, for instance, in Yucatán, dual rulership apparently replaced the more theocratic governments of Classic times, whilst oligarchic councils operated in much of Central Mexico. Likewise, it appears that the wealthy pochteca and military orders became more powerful than was apparently the case in Classic times and this afforded some Mesoamericans a degree of social mobility. The Toltec for a time dominated central Mexico in the 11th–13th century, the northern Maya were for a time united under Mayapan, and Oaxaca was briefly united by Mixtec rulers in the 11th–12th centuries. The Aztec Empire arose in the early 15th century and appeared to be on a path to asserting dominance over the Valley of Mexico region not seen since Teotihuacan. Spain was the first European power to contact Mesoamerica, however, and its conquistadores, by the 15th century, the Mayan revival in Yucatán and southern Guatemala and the flourishing of Aztec imperialism evidently enabled a renaissance of fine arts and science. Examples include the Pueblan-Mexica style in pottery, codex illumination, and goldwork, the flourishing of Nahua poetry, arguably, the Post-Classic continued until the conquest of the last independent native state of Mesoamerica, Tayasal, in 1697. Mesoamerican civilization was a network of different cultures
6.
Aztec
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The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica from the 14th to 16th centuries. The Nahuatl words aztecatl and aztecah mean people from Aztlan, a place for the Nahuatl-speaking culture of the time. Often the term Aztec refers exclusively to the Mexica people of Tenochtitlan, situated on an island in Lake Texcoco, who referred to themselves as Mēxihcah Tenochcah or Cōlhuah Mexihcah. From the 13th century, the Valley of Mexico was the heart of Aztec civilization, here the capital of the Aztec Triple Alliance, the Triple Alliance formed a tributary empire expanding its political hegemony far beyond the Valley of Mexico, conquering other city states throughout Mesoamerica. At its pinnacle, Aztec culture had rich and complex mythological and religious traditions, as well as achieving remarkable architectural and artistic accomplishments. Subsequently, the Spanish founded the new settlement of Mexico City on the site of the ruined Aztec capital, the term extends to further ethnic groups associated with the Aztec empire such as the Acolhua and Tepanec and others that were incorporated into the empire. In older usage the term was used about modern Nahuatl speaking ethnic groups. In recent usage these ethnic groups are referred to as the Nahua peoples. Linguistically the term Aztecan is still used about the branch of the Uto-Aztecan languages that includes the Nahuatl language and its closest relatives Pochutec, to the Aztecs themselves the word aztec was not an endonym for any particular ethnic group. Rather it was a term used to refer to several ethnic groups, not all of them Nahuatl speaking. In the Nahuatl language aztecatl means person from Aztlan and this usage has been the subject of debate in more recent years, but the term Aztec is still more common. For the same reason the notion of Aztec civilization is best understood as a horizon of a general Mesoamerican civilization. Particular to the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan was the Mexica patron God Huitzilopochtli, twin pyramids, the Aztec Empire was a tribute empire based in Tenochtitlan that extended its power throughout Mesoamerica in the late postclassic period. Soon Texcoco and Tlacopan became junior partners in the alliance, which was de facto led by the Mexica of Tenochtitlan, the empire extended its power by a combination of trade and military conquest. The political clout of the empire reached far south into Mesoamerica conquering cities as far south as Chiapas and Guatemala, the Nahua peoples began to migrate into Mesoamerica from northern Mexico in the 6th century. They populated central Mexico, dislocating speakers of Oto-Manguean languages as they spread their influence south. As the former nomadic hunter-gatherer peoples mixed with the civilizations of Mesoamerica, adopting religious and cultural practices. During the Postclassic period they rose to power at such sites as Tula, in the 12th century the Nahua power center was in Azcapotzalco, from where the Tepanecs dominated the valley of Mexico
7.
Nahuatl
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Nahuatl, known historically as Aztec, is a language or group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by an estimated 1.5 million Nahua peoples, all Nahuan languages are indigenous to Mesoamerica. Nahuatl has been spoken in central Mexico since at least the seventh century CE and it was the language of the Aztecs who dominated what is now central Mexico during the Late Postclassic period of Mesoamerican history. This early literary language based on the Tenochtitlan variety has been labeled Classical Nahuatl, today, Nahuan languages are spoken in scattered communities, mostly in rural areas throughout central Mexico and along the coastline. There are considerable differences among varieties, and some are mutually unintelligible, Huasteca Nahuatl, with over one million speakers, is the most-spoken variety. They have all been subject to varying degrees of influence from Spanish, No modern Nahuan languages are identical to Classical Nahuatl, but those spoken in and around the Valley of Mexico are generally more closely related to it than those on the periphery. Nahuan languages exhibit a complex morphology characterized by polysynthesis and agglutination, through a very long period of coexistence with the other indigenous Mesoamerican languages, they have absorbed many influences, coming to form part of the Mesoamerican language area. Many words from Nahuatl have been borrowed into Spanish, and since diffused into hundreds of other languages, most of these loanwords denote things indigenous to central Mexico which the Spanish heard mentioned for the first time by their Nahuatl names. English words of Nahuatl origin include avocado, chayote, chili, chocolate, atlatl, coyote, peyote, axolotl, as a language label, the term Nahuatl encompasses a group of closely related languages or divergent dialects within the Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. The Mexican Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas recognize 30 different individual varieties within the language group labeled Nahuatl, the Ethnologue recognizes 28 varieties with separate ISO codes. Sometimes the label also is used to include the Pipil language of El Salvador, within Mexico the question of whether to consider individual varieties to be languages or dialects of a single language is highly political. This article focuses on describing the history of the group. For details on individual varieties or subgroups, see the individual articles, in the past, the branch of Uto-Aztecan to which Nahuatl belongs has been called Aztecan. From the 1990s onward, the alternative designation Nahuan has been used as a replacement especially in Spanish-language publications. The Nahuan branch of Uto-Aztecan is widely accepted as having two divisions, General Aztec and Pochutec, General Aztec encompasses the Nahuatl and Pipil languages. Pochutec is a scantily attested language, which became extinct in the 20th century, other researchers have argued that Pochutec should be considered a divergent variant of the western periphery. Nahuatl denotes at least Classical Nahuatl together with related languages spoken in Mexico. The inclusion of Pipil into the group is debated, current subclassification of Nahuatl rests on research by Canger, Canger and Lastra de Suárez
8.
Artisan
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Artisans practice a craft and may through experience and aptitude reach the expressive levels of an artist. The adjective artisanal is sometimes used in describing hand-processing in what is viewed as an industrial process. Thus, artisanal is sometimes used in marketing and advertising as a word to describe or imply some relation with the crafting of handmade food products, such as bread. Many of these have traditionally been handmade, rural or pastoral goods but are now commonly made on a larger scale with automated mechanization in factories. Artisans were the dominant producers of products prior to the Industrial Revolution. In ancient Greece, artisans were drawn to agoras and often built workshops nearby, during the Middle Ages, the term artisan was applied to those who made things or provided services. It did not apply to unskilled manual labourers, Artisans were divided into two distinct groups, those who operated their own businesses and those who did not. Those who owned their businesses were called masters, while the latter were the journeymen, one misunderstanding many people have about this social group is that they picture them as workers in the modern sense, employed by someone. The most influential group among the artisans were the masters, the business owners, the owners enjoyed a higher social status in their communities. Shokunin is a Japanese word for artisan or craftsman, which implies a pride in ones own work. In the words of shokunin Tashio Odate, Shokunin means not only having technical skill, a social obligation to work his best for the general welfare of the people, obligation both material and spiritual. Applied art Artist Arts and Crafts movement Caste — Tarkhan Guild Handicraft The dictionary definition of artisan at Wiktionary History of Artisans
9.
Toltec Empire
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According to Aztec historiography, the Toltec Empire, Toltec Kingdom or Altepetl Tolteca was a political entity in Mexico. It existed through the classic and post classic periods of Mesoamerican chronology, during this time its sphere of influence reached as far away as the Yucatan Peninsula. Its core cities were Tula, Tulancingo, and Huapalcalco, the distant cities under its control and influence were Chupícuaro, Chichen Itza. In the late 5th century Teotihuacan was the most powerful city in central Mexico, the Toltecs were one ethnicity living in the city. Around 496 they were forced to leave, led by Huémac I, the Toltecs and Chichimeca were constantly at war. Huémac I decided to make peace with the Chichimeca and form a permanent monarchy, in the treaty, the Tlatoani to succeed Huémac was to be Chalchiuhtlanetzin, who was Chichimeca. The date that the treaty was created is disputed, but was probably 510 or 567, either way Huémac continued living after Chalchiuhtlanetzin was crowned. The dynastic history of the Toltecs was recorded by several Aztec Codices although there are contradictions in most of them, According to a legend, in 843 a Toltec man named Papantzin invented a type of sugar made from the Agave plant. He and his daughter Xochitl brought the sugar as a gift to the Tecpancaltzin Iztaccaltzin, Tecpancaltzin fell in love with Xochitl, but she did not share his feelings. He kept her in his not allowing her to leave. He convinced Papantzin not to help her by telling him that when Tecpancaltzin died and they had a son named Maeconetzin. Xochitl threatened to leave in 846 but Tecpancaltzin managed to keep her there by promising Maeconetzin would be the next Tlatoani, after Tecpancaltzin died, Xochitl became empress. Under her reign there was a civil war, to stop the war she created a legion of soldiers made up completely of women. Xochitl was successful in re-uniting the Toltecs, but she died in battle, Ce Acatl Topiltzin was the fourteenth Tlatoani of the Toltecs. Who his parents were is unknown, but in mythological his father was Mixcōatl, Topiltzin and the god Quetzalcoatl are often mixed together and confused. By the age of thirteen he was studying at a college in Xochicalco, in 877 he was elected as Tlatoani of the Toltecs. Shortly after he was tempted by the god Tezcatlipoca and was exilded, during this time he may have founded Cuzcatlan. In 881 he moved to Chichen Itza or Uxmal, there he became friends with the Maya ruler Ulil I
10.
Tula de Allende
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Tula de Allende is a town and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 305.8 km², and as of 2010, the municipality includes numerous smaller outlying towns, the largest of which are El Llano, San Marcos, and San Miguel Vindho. It is an economic center and one of Mexico’s fastest growing cities. However, it is best known as the home of the Tula archeological site and its built-up area made up of Atotonilco de Tula, Atitalaquia, Tlaxcoapan municipalities was home to 188,659 inhabitants at the 2010 census. The city of Tula de Allende was built on what was the extension of the ancient city of Tula. The modern city is connected to the ancient ruins as it is an important tourist attraction as well as a symbol of the city. Toltec finds are not uncommon underneath the modern city, in 2009, Toltec burials from 900-1100CE were found under Tula-Iturbe Boulevard along with several kilns for firing pottery. The modern city is an economic center and has been listed as one of the fastest growing in Mexico by the National Commission of Population. Most of the reason for this is the existence of a refinery, the city is centered around the parish and former monastery of San Jose, with the oldest part built between 1546 and 1556. The main facade has three arches, pilasters with reliefs, a pediment and a chapel annex that takes from the 17th century. The cloister of the monastery has two levels with arches and fresco murals, inside the main church, there is a modern mural called “Jesus” located at the main altar. It was named a cathedral in 1961, near here is a main plaza and an open-air theatre, framed by a mural called “Tula Eterna” created by Juan Pablo Patiño Cornejo. Another mural called “Tianguis Mamehni” is found at the chamber of commerce, there is also the Plaza de las Artesanias dedicated to local handcrafts including replicas of the atlas figures. The government of the city of Tula de Allende is also the government for a total of 76 communities, the city is the largest community, with a population of about 27,000. The government consists of a president, fourteen administrators,54 delegates. The name is derived from the Nahuatl phrase Tollan-Xicocotitlan, which means near where cattails grow, Tula is the Hispanicized pronunciation of Tollan. In Otomi the area is called Namehi, which means “place of many people. ”It was given the appendage of “de Allende” in honor of Ignacio Allende who fought in the Mexican War of Independence. The area was the capital of one of the civilizations of Mesoamerica
11.
Architecture
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Architecture is both the process and the product of planning, designing, and constructing buildings and other physical structures. Architectural works, in the form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols. Historical civilizations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements, Architecture can mean, A general term to describe buildings and other physical structures. The art and science of designing buildings and nonbuilding structures, the style of design and method of construction of buildings and other physical structures. A unifying or coherent form or structure Knowledge of art, science, technology, the design activity of the architect, from the macro-level to the micro-level. The practice of the architect, where architecture means offering or rendering services in connection with the design and construction of buildings. The earliest surviving work on the subject of architecture is De architectura. According to Vitruvius, a building should satisfy the three principles of firmitas, utilitas, venustas, commonly known by the original translation – firmness, commodity. An equivalent in modern English would be, Durability – a building should stand up robustly, utility – it should be suitable for the purposes for which it is used. Beauty – it should be aesthetically pleasing, according to Vitruvius, the architect should strive to fulfill each of these three attributes as well as possible. Leon Battista Alberti, who elaborates on the ideas of Vitruvius in his treatise, De Re Aedificatoria, saw beauty primarily as a matter of proportion, for Alberti, the rules of proportion were those that governed the idealised human figure, the Golden mean. The most important aspect of beauty was, therefore, an inherent part of an object, rather than something applied superficially, Gothic architecture, Pugin believed, was the only true Christian form of architecture. The 19th-century English art critic, John Ruskin, in his Seven Lamps of Architecture, Architecture was the art which so disposes and adorns the edifices raised by men. That the sight of them contributes to his health, power. For Ruskin, the aesthetic was of overriding significance and his work goes on to state that a building is not truly a work of architecture unless it is in some way adorned. For Ruskin, a well-constructed, well-proportioned, functional building needed string courses or rustication, but suddenly you touch my heart, you do me good. I am happy and I say, This is beautiful, le Corbusiers contemporary Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together. The notable 19th-century architect of skyscrapers, Louis Sullivan, promoted an overriding precept to architectural design, function came to be seen as encompassing all criteria of the use, perception and enjoyment of a building, not only practical but also aesthetic, psychological and cultural
12.
Iconography
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The word iconography comes from the Greek εἰκών and γράφειν. A secondary meaning is the production of images, called icons, in the Byzantine and Orthodox Christian tradition. In art history, an iconography may also mean a depiction of a subject in terms of the content of the image, such as the number of figures used, their placing. Sometimes distinctions have been made between iconology and iconography, although the definitions, and so the distinction made, varies, when referring to movies, genres are immediately recognizable through their iconography, motifs that become associated with a specific genre through repetition. Gian Pietro Bellori, a 17th-century biographer of artists of his own time, describes and analyses, not always correctly, many works. Lessings study of the classical figure Amor with a torch was an early attempt to use a study of a type of image to explain the culture it originated in. These early contributions paved the way for encyclopedias, manuals, mâles lArt religieux du XIIIe siècle en France translated into English as The Gothic Image, Religious Art in France of the Thirteenth Century has remained continuously in print. In the United States, to which Panofsky immigrated in 1931, students such as Frederick Hartt, the period from 1940 can be seen as one where iconography was especially prominent in art history. These are now being digitised and made online, usually on a restricted basis. For example, the Iconclass code 71H7131 is for the subject of Bathsheba with Davids letter, whereas 71 is the whole Old Testament and 71H the story of David. A number of collections of different types have been classified using Iconclass, notably types of old master print, the collections of the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. These are available, usually on-line or on DVD, the system can also be used outside pure art history, for example on sites like Flickr. Central to the iconography and hagiography of Indian religions are mudra or gestures with specific meanings, the symbolic use of colour to denote the Classical Elements or Mahabhuta and letters and bija syllables from sacred alphabetic scripts are other features. Under the influence of art developed esoteric meanings, accessible only to initiates. The art of Indian Religions esp, for example, Narasimha an incarnation of Vishnu though considered a wrathful deity but in few contexts is depicted in pacified mood. Conversely, in Hindu art, narrative scenes have become more common in recent centuries, especially in miniature paintings of the lives of Krishna. Eventually the Church would succeed in weeding most of these out, after the period of Byzantine iconoclasm iconographical innovation was regarded as unhealthy, if not heretical, in the Eastern Church, though it still continued at a glacial pace. More than in the West, traditional depictions were often considered to have authentic or miraculous origins, the Eastern church also never accepted the use of monumental high relief or free-standing sculpture, which it found too reminiscent of paganism
Media related to Toltec at Wikimedia Commons
