Stephen's Global Art Blog

      The Great Mosque of Kairouan was established in the seventh century, and was designed and build for one purpose, which was to unify the peoples of Northern Africa under a centralized form of Islam. Due to the many conflicting people of North Africa, such as the Byzantines, and the indigenous people of the area known as the Berber, Muslims had a hard time creating and keeping cities in the area. This mosque ensured that with a shared religion, the people of Kairouan would be able to portray an image of unity. The very construction of the mosque itself represents this unity, as the building consists of multiple building styles. There are primarily Islamic details present, however as time would pass rulers would add their own touches to the construct. A people called the Aghlabids would be the ones primarily making changes to the mosque, such as the distinct use of a courtyard, which echoed some Christian churches, and the use of marble pillars inside the building, whi...

       The Emerald Buddha Shown above is the Emerald Buddha, a statue that resides in Thailand and has been around since about 44 C.E. The legend of the statue is that it was made with a wish granting stone inside of it, and that the statue itself descended from the heavens. Despite the name, the statue is made with no emerald at all, except fro some small jewels dotting the clothes of the statue. The statue is primarily made of jade. It has been noted that the statue has spent time in a large amount of Southeast Asia, in nations such as India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and eventually modern day Thailand, where it has remained. Buddhism is still in fact practiced in Thailand, with the statues arrival marking a change of culture in the region. The form of Buddhism practiced in Thailand can actually be traced as one of the oldest and most original forms of Buddhism, with the teachings echoing those of the Buddha's own dharma, or decrees. The most interesting thing about the...

 The Dome of the Rock Qubbat al-Sakhra, otherwise known as the Dome of the Rock, is an Islamic structure constructed in the early days of the creation of Islam, and is considered to be one of the first buildings constructed by the religion. The building is located in what would be known as Old Jerusalem, and is located upon the highest point in the region. The Dome of the Rock was completed in the year 691 AD, some 60 years after the death of the prophet Mohammad. In between these two points in time, Islam there was warfare between the first early Arab armies, and the Holy City of Jerusalem. The Arabic armies won this conflict, and then constructed the Dome of the Rock. The exact purpose of the building is unknown, as it was not used as a mosque, but there is deep religious significance to the building. There is a rock at the center of the building, for which the building received its namesake, and is believed to have been the rock that Abraham would have sacrificed his son Isaac o...

The Francois Vase        The Francois Vase is a vase found fragmented in an Etruscan tomb by Allessandro Francois, hence the name of the vase. While the fragments were found in the tomb, the vase itself was constructed in Athens, Greece. The reasoning for finding the vase so far from its original creation point was that the Athenian art was considered to be in great demand in the region. The purpose of the vase itself was to serve as a vase used for mixing wine and water, however the increased size of the vase allowed for the entire vase to be covered in paintings. This was customary, as these mixing vases would be used by high society figures for gatherings or other public events to serve wine mixed with water. It is possible this vase was used in Athens, and then gifted in a funeral, where it then found itself in the Etruscan tomb. The man who painted the vase, Kleitias, was incredibly detailed in his work, which depicted many historical and mythological events, al...

The Rosetta Stone https://smarthistory.org/the-rosetta-stone/      The Rosetta Stone is a large piece of granodiorite with writing covering the entire front surface of the stone. It was made in the Ptolemaic period of Egypt. This stone has great significance, both at the time it was created, and currently. It is covered in religious text, that at the time was used for ceremonies, but now currently, is used to translate hieroglyphics. The stone itself is rather large, and consisting entirely of rock is rather heavy. The words around the rock seems to have change languages due to the difference in shapes of the writing. If you look closely, you can pick out 3 different formats of writing, all in a different language. This is likely what lead to many of the translations being created. The piece of stone pictured is fractured and broken, as it was once part of a much larger piece. The fractures around the stone do not seem to be smooth, or orderly, and this cuts off much of t...

                                                                                  Stephen's Introduction My name is Stephen Monack, and I go by Stephen. I am from Pueblo, Colorado, and I am currently enrolled as a nursing student at CSUP. This will be the first art class I have taken. I can't say I have any preference for certain arts, or artists, so it will be nice to explore and see what is out there. Chosen Art: The David Vases The David Vases were made in the Chinese Yuan Dynasty, in the Jiangxi province, dating the pottery to about 1351 A.D. The vases are made of porcelain, and the artwork on the vases was made with an underglaze. I chose this piece as typically when I first think of art, I imagine paintings, and pictures, so something other...