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Christopher R. Whittle

Professor Jill Anderson

 ART 111 SEC 01: A History of Art I

September 14, 2010

Development of the Role of the Artist over Time

The role of the artist in the history of our world has a very interesting tone. It is

one that dates from when recorded history even began, the time period known as

“Prehistory”, or the Paleolithic Period [Wilkins et al. 22]. At this time, the cavemen

chiseled “drawings” on their cave walls made up of stone. They may have not had

knowledge of what they were accomplishing, but they are allegedly the first artists. Cave

 were discovered in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Altamira, Spain, and

Lascaux, France [Wilkins et al. 23].

The next major period in the time of the cavemen was the Neolithic Period, which

lasted from approximately 8000-5000 B.C. Architecture and pottery were founded for

defending barbarians and vessels to hold the hunted and gathered nourishment.

Stonehenge was the first structure reportedly to be built, which construction started in

2750 B.C., and ended around 1300 B.C., which was completed in three phases [Scott

240]. The purpose of Stonehenge was to practice Druidism, the religion of the ancient

  Anglo-Saxons, Bretons, and Celts. Crafts such as basket weaving and pottery were

 believed to have inaugurated in China. The ideas of sculpture and mask making were

said to have first been comprehended in Nigeria [Wilkins et al. 25-6].

Originally, artwork was created for worshipping of community deity, which began

  with native pagan worship, and which holds true in the same matter in Judaism,

Buddhism, Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and

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sometimes in certain Protestant Christian churches. As a result of perfection, the

artisan, who was the most skilled in a community creating a certain object or had a

specific talent, was considered to be of the noble class [Wilkins et al. 29-30].

  Artwork appears in almost every ancient civilization, including Ancient Greece,

Rome, China, Egypt, just to name some examples. Architecture also appears in every 

time period when any type of structure was (and still is) constructed. Styles of art and

architecture go hand in hand (e.g. classical style, gothic, Romanesque,

international/modern, etc.) to create a juxtaposition and formal composition.

  When artwork was subject to theft, art guilds were established to protect the

rights thereof, similarly to the present-day copyright and infringement laws. Protection

like this began in the Middle Ages, where the major clients were clergy and royalty. This

cliental expanded to any person who had a nice house [Wilkins et al. 19]. Today, the

artist can refer to anyone who performs videography, photography, or theatre, or acting.

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 Works Cited

Scott, Robert A. The Gothic Enterprise. University of California Press, Berkeley: 2003

 Wilkins, David G. et al. Art Past Art Present, Sixth Edition. Pearson-Prentice Hall,

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: 2009