irh z Visual Communication
through the ages A Style
Book By Andrea Cain History of Graphic Design
Pictograph Pictographs are simplified pictures or symbols that represent a thing, word, or phrase. Pictographs were used to record numbers and
events for early people. The pictographs below represent a turtle, an adult with a child and various other depictions that helped keep record of information.
Historic Pictographic Record
Today we use pictographs for signs to easily
communicate a word for a broad range of people. Even without a shared language, this pictograph by the Ojibwa people communicates a story. Found at Lake Superior, the pictographs show a canoe full of people, snakes, and a large reptile like creature, Mishipeshu.
Representation of Mishipeshu, the great water lynx, from the Agawa pictograph site in Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario.
Hieratic Scale A Hieratic Scale is the depiction of people in different sizes. The larger they are depicted, the greater the importance they hold. This painting from Nebamun’s Tomb is an
example of the Hieratic scale that was commonly seen in ancient Egyptian art. Nebamun is depicted as the largest figure and the focal point of the piece, showing his importance. Next in size is his wife and then daughter, who are considerably smaller.
Nebamun's Tomb, ca. 1350 BCE,
Darius and Xerxes Receiving Tribute is carved into
the wall leading to the Apandana in Persepolis, Iran. King Darius is seated in the throne in the front and Xerxes, his son, stands behind him. Darius is the largest person depicted while his son is just a little smaller. The two figures in the back are the smallest depicted and are most likely palace servants.
Darius and Xerxes Receiving Tribute, Persepolis, Iran 491-486 BCE; Persian; Limestone
Rebus A rebus is the combination of symbols or pictures that together make up a word or message. Below is a letter from Lewis Carroll to
Georgina Watson in 1869. Lewis Carroll was famous for his record of letters that included rebuses. The picture of the deer at the top of the page is meant to represent the word “dear”. Every picture of an eye is meant to represent the word “I”.
Illustrative Letter from Lewis Carroll to Georgina Watson; October 10, 1869
This is rebus writing from ancient Egypt, where it was initially developed. With the use of pictographs and ideographs, rebus were arranged to communicate ideas and words that otherwise were to complicated or broad to communicate. These are from the time of Ramses II and indicate his name.
Stele showing Ramses II name in hieroglyphics, 1300 BCE
Greek (Archaic) A period in Greek art where pottery became a main trade of Athens and figures and features became more stylized and naturalistic. Pottery became so popular in Greek culture,
several techniques were developed for pottery painting. The piece “Neck-amphora” is a black figure painted pot. In this process, parts of the pot that are glazed turn black when fired and unglazed parts turn orange. White parts of the pot are glazed with white glaze for added detail.
Neck–amphora, ca. 540 B.C.; Archaic; black–figure Attributed to Exekias; Greek, Attic Terra-cotta; H. 18 1/2 in.
This “Statuette of Herakles” is an example of
sculpture in the Archaic period. The Greek god is shown to be very strong, heroic, and well groomed. The grooming and depiction of people is a stylized focal point for Archaic period pieces.
Statuette of Herakles, last quarter of 6th century B.C.; Archaic Greek; Bronze; H. 5 1/16 in.
Greek (Hellenistic) A period in Greek art that brought forth a new level of drama, emotion, and innovation to the subject matter of pieces. This Bronze statuette of a veiled and masked
dancer is an example of the Hellenistic Greek art. The woman’s body and movements are implied through many layers of fabric. Subject matter evolved to further explore and depict the human body.
Hellenistic, 3rd–2nd century B.C.; GreekBronze; H. 8 1/16 in. (20.5 cm)
“Boxer at Rest” is a Greek Hellenistic piece that
also shows a depth and focus on emotion a drama. This piece shows a pain in the boxer’s composure and detail of gloves adds to the realism. Figures like dancers and boxers had never been focuses of Greek art until the Hellenistic period.
“Boxer at Rest” Greek, Hellenistic period, late 4th–2nd century B.C., bronze with copper inlays. Image courtesy Vanni/Art Resource, NY.
High Relief High relief is a method used in sculpting and carving that enhances objects that appear closer to the viewer by making them stand out further from the surface. Lorenzo Ghiberti was hired to design bronze doors
Pergamon is a piece that demonstrates very high
that became the Gates of Paradise. In this panel Adam and Eve, high relief technique is used to separate the people and foreground from the background. Depth is greatly added to in this technique.
relief that appears to free the figures from the background almost completely. High relief is also utilized to create may layers of depth between each figure, increasing the depth and space that the piece alludes to.
Lorenzo Ghiberti (Italian, 1378–1455). Adam and Eve Panel, from Gates of Paradise, 1425–52. Gilt bronze. Image courtesy Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence.
Pergamon, Great Altar, detail of the Great Frieze (east) showing the Gigantomachy, c. 180–c. 160 BCE (Berlin, Pergamon museum); photo credit: Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY]
Doric The simplest architectural Greek style in which there is a round capital with a square sitting on top and no base present. The Temple of Hephaistos was modeled in the
Doric fashion. The columns are simple columns with a round capital at the top and no base platform. The round capital is mesh with a square top. Despite the simplicity of the Doric elements, the building is very powerful and grand.
Athens Temple; Peripteral temple; on the west side of the Agora, on the Kolonos Agoraios. ca. 449 BC - 444 BC
Another example of the Doric styled
architecture is a temple that was never finished called the “Temple of the Delians�. Started in 478 BCE the building was meant to have six Doric columns lining the shorter sides and thirteen columns on the longer sides.
The Temple of the Delians or Grand Temple; 478 BCE, Island of Delos
Ionic The Ionic style is a Greek architectural order that has a rounded base and a scroll styled capital. One of the most famous examples of Ionic
architecture is the Temple of Athena Nike. It sits atop the acropolis in Athens where it has been since roughly 427 BCE. Unlike Doric columns, these Ionic columns have bases that are round and their capitals are in a scroll style.
The Ionic temple of Athena Nike; Built by Callicrates between 427 and 424 BCE; white marble. Destroyed in 1687, restored in 1835.
A modern example of Ionic order architecture
is shown at the American Museum of Natural History. These columns also display the characteristics with round bases and scrolled capitals. Many buildings today incorporate the ancient architecture developed by the Greeks.
The American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan shown with Ionic columns.
Corinthian The Corinthian style is a Greek architectural order that has a round base but its capital is decorated with Acanthus leaves or flowers possibly under a small scroll. The Temple of Vesta is at the acropolis at Tivoli.
Lucius Gellius commissioned this Corinthian temple which dates back to 60 BCE. Made from travertine, these columns show great craftsmanship of rounded bases and extravagant capitals. The capitals of these columns show the flowers under the scroll, a Corinthian characteristic.
The Temple of Vesta, 60 BCE; acropolis at Tivoli
The Corinthian order was seen more often in Rome
than in Greece because the Romans preferred it. The Pantheon is another example of the Corinthian architecture that shows up in Rome. These columns are not fluted as opposed to the Temple of Vesta.
The Pantheon in Rome, 126 CE
Ligature A ligature is character that is made up of two or more characters or letters. Ligatures were made from letters that were
commonly place together in typography. The below examples are all ligatures because they take two or more letters and form them into one character. Most ligatures included the letter “f”.
The ligature below is a combination of the
lowercase letters “c” and “t”. Ligatures could also be stylized to improve upon the detail of illuminated manuscript.
Ampersand The ampersand is a symbol that comes from the Latin word “et”. The name of the symbol is derived from the saying “and per say and”. These are all ampersand symbols displayed in various classic fonts, like Caslon and Baskerville. The word “et” can be seen in each style of the symbol.
The ampersand is still widely used today because it
replaces the common word “and”. This makes the symbol extremely useful to not only literature but also design. We see it used in the commonly known A&E network logo design.
Illuminated Manuscript Illuminated manuscripts were highly decorated handwritten books that were often decorated with gold leaf and color. Illuminated manuscripts were one of the few art forms that were advanced in the Medieval Ages. This example is from the Bohun Psalter and Hours made in England in the midfourteenth century. The illustrations are inlaid and embellished with gold leaf and color.
The Bohun Psalter and Hours, made for Humphrey de Bohun, grandfather of Henry V.; Egerton 3277
This is an earlier example of illuminated
manuscript is The Arnstein Bible, completed by a monk named Lunandus. This manuscript dates back to the twelfth century and was more than likely used for reading at services because of its embellishment.
The Arnstein Bible, a large two-volume manuscript written at Arnstein in the twelfth century
Drop Cap A drop cap is an enlarged initial that takes up more than one line of text. It is usually used in the beginning of a page, paragraph, or line. Below is an excerpt from The Ramsey Psalter
This example from Sermons on the
written in England in the tenth century. This demonstrates a drop capital that begins a paragraph. A drop cap is also normally embellished like the letter “D� is below.
Sunday Epistles and Gospels, shows a simpler drop capital that distinctly shows that it takes up three lines of text.
The Ramsey Psalter; written in England in the tenth century, and formed the basis of modern calligraphy
Sermons on the Sunday Epistles and Gospels by John Myclif; England, 14th Century
Diminuendo Diminuendo is a technique for illuminated manuscripts that shows a decreasing scale of writing or text. This example of diminuendo is from the
Book of Kells. Notice that after the initial drop cap, the text continues to scale down. Although the text increases in size again, the text directly after it is scaled down.
Folio 8 Recto from the Book of Kells; beginning of the Gospel of St. Matthew.
“The Lesson of St. Wenceslaus Day� shows a
diminuendo in the illuminated manuscript. The scale in text fluctuates but directly scales down in sets. Diminuendo brought about creative ways of page designing for scribes.
Carpet Pages Carpet pages are full pages of illustration with little to no text used. The designs usually mimic an oriental rug. This is a carpet page from the “Lichfield
This carpet page is in an Islamic style from an
Gospels� also known as the Book of Chad. This carpet page holds no text, but instead shows an intricate pattern of decoration and patterns. There is no negative or white space in the composition either which is common of carpet pages.
11th century Koran. Borders and designs make up this full page illustration that also holds on text. Carpet pages added great value to a manuscript because of their overall detail and beauty.
Lichfield Gospels, 720-730, insular gospel book; carpet page, Lichfield Cathedral, Staffordshire, England
Carpet page excerpted from an 11th century CE Koran.
Interlaces Interlaces are a woven and interlocked patterns of Celtic origin and design. Interlaces were used in typography and sculpting. This is a gold belt buckle that was excavated from
the Sutton Hoo burial ship. Interlaces decorate almost every inch of this complex piece and show the influence this design had in Celtic art. This piece dates back to the 7th century which was the emergence of interlacing and knot work.
The Book of Dimma is an Irish manuscript written in Old Latin, in late 700 CE. Below is the opening page to the Gospel of St. John so much of the imagery used refers to him. The borders are made up of various interlace designs.
Gold Belt Buckle, from the Sutton Hoo Ship Burial, 7th c. A.D. The Book of Dimma , written at St. Cronan’s Monastery, Roscrea; Late 700 CE. Irish.
Lacertine A lacertine is a woven design much like interlaces, but composed of animals. This fine detailing depicts a lacertine design
because the animals make the woven design. This example is Daniel Mitsui’s modern imitation of the famous Chi-Rho pages from the 6th century.
CHI-RHO MONOGRAMDRAWING by DANIEL MITSUI
The Aberlemno Cross Slab dates back to the 8th
century. Lacertines line the sides of the cross including a depiction of a “water horse”. This was done by a migratory group from Scotland called the Picts.
Aberlemno Cross Slab, 8th c, Pictish, Migration Period, Scotland
Calligraphy Calligraphy is beautiful hand written or drawn lettering. Huang Tingjian was a calligrapher in 12th
century China that hand wrote the Chinese calligraphy below called Biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru tells the story of two officials in a fight.
This is Antonello Bertozzi Calligraphy from 1604 . This piece of calligraphy is an alphabet of calligraphy that he published. This calligraphy is embellished with elongated letters and serifs.
Antonello Bertozzi Calligraphy 1604
Biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru by Huang Tingjian Date: ca. 1095
Logogram A logogram is a symbol or graphic that directly represents a word or phrase These logograms are from the Luwain
culture and focus on the logogram being a direct representation of the word or phrase. These were developed anywhere from 1400700 BCE.
Logograms used today could be
referred to as ideograms as well. These logograms communicate to anyone despite language. The baby logogram is easy to decipher because of the diaper.
Text
Luwain Culture logogram,1400 BCE to 700 BCE
Movable Type Movable type was the development in printing where letters could be added, taken, and rearranged to print books much more efficiently. Below is a metal movable type from the Goryeo
era. The characters were simply slid into order on a line and then printed out like a giant stamp. While the Latin language has only 26 characters, the Chinese has over 44,00 characters making movable type an expensive trade.
Restored metal movable type from the Goryeo era.
This diagram shows how movable type
works within a printing press to achieve an efficient print. Letters were put in order but backwards, so reading and proofreading were tricky.
Arabesque Arabesque style originates from Arabic and Moorish decoration and often consists of embellished flowered designs and interlaces. This is Arabesque Interlace in Circle and
Arabesque and Classical Ornament is a design that is deeply inspired by Islamic design. This Venetian pattern book was made in 1465-1527.
Arabesque Interlace in Circle and Arabesque and Classical Ornament, ca. 1465–1527; Font by Giovanni Antonio Tagliente; woodcuts by Piron da Carpi
This building displays the Arabesque style through
well balanced scales of patterns and interlaces. In this example interlacing is shown all over this building known as the Court of Lions. The patterns that contain the flower interlace as well.
Court of the Lions. Muqarna arches; Arab script incorporated. Ca. 1362- 1391 CE.
Rune stone Rune stones were used to honor the dead with carvings in the stone by the Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavians. This Viking rune stone honors a father who died
on a war mission under the command of GuĂ°vĂŠ. This stone is called SĂś 217. These rune stones were head stones with pictures to communicate the idea about the person.
Rune stone U 217, Viking Rune Stone commemorating a fallen father.
The Lingsberg Rune stone, U 240, was made in
11th century Sweden. It was erected in honor of a famous rune master of the time. A lacertine design is used with intertwining creatures at the bottom of the stone.
Lingsberg Rune stone, (U 240), 11th century, SwedenYounger Futhork
Gothic The Gothic style came about in France and included a pointed arch, flying buttresses, and stained glass windows. Le Mans Cathedral in France is a pronounced depiction
of the Gothic style. The flying buttresses of this cathedral sprawl out in support but add a powerful look. Every arch is pointed as well and the church is known for its array of stained glass. The church was started in the 6th century and completed in the 14th century.
Le Mans Cathedral; Le Mans, France. Gothic Style. 6th-14th century.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame of Lausanne,
Switzerland is also a clear example of the Gothic style with its pointed arches, flying buttresses, and stained glass. In addition, ribbed vaults and open space are also elements of the Gothic style that this cathedral achieves.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Lausanne, Switzerland; 1235 CE. Gothic.
Stained glass Stained glass was a key element in the Gothic styled architecture because it allowed light in while also giving off a beautiful picture or design. This is the south Rose Window in the Cathedral of
Le Mans Cathedral is known for its extraordinary
The South Rose Window at the Cathedral of Lausanne. Installed sometime after 1270 CE.
(Top) Mid 13th century stained glass. (Bottom) Images depicting the offering of windows to the church
Lausanne. Although this window design looks like only a flower, looking closely each shape of glass is an individual picture. Allegories and stories of the bible fill each pane. This dates back to the 13th century and was designed by Pierre of Arras.
stained glass. Each pane tells countless stories and brings color and light into the normally dark cathedrals.
Tenebrism Tenebrism is a style of painting that uses a high contrast of light and dark to enhance the drama in the piece. The Martyrdom of St. Andrew by Jusepe de
Ribera was completed in 1628. This piece is an example of Tenebrism because of the extreme contrast the artist has created with a dramatic light source against a dark background. This adds to the dramatics of the entire piece and a rich sense of form.
The Martyrdom of St. Andrew by Jesepe de Ribera. 1628, Naples, Italy.
In The Conversion of St. Paul was completed
in 1601 by Caravaggio. Caravaggio has completed many pieces with Tenebrism and excelled in this art style. In the painting below, the shadows that the light casts on every surface enhances the depth and realism of the scene.
Caravaggio: The Conversion of St. Paul, c. 1601