Names of centuries in chronological order. Historical eras in order. Epochs in art in order

This article will discuss the main stages world history: from ancient times to our time. We will briefly review the main features of each stage and identify the events/reasons that marked the transition to the next stage of development.

Epochs of human development: general structure

Scientists usually distinguish five main stages in the development of mankind, and the transition from one to another was marked by fundamental changes in the structure of human society.

1. Primitive society (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic)
2. Ancient world
3. Middle Ages
4. New time
5. Modern times

Primitive society: Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic

Paleolithic- Old Stone Age, the longest stage. The boundaries of the stage are considered to be the use of primitive stone tools (about 2.5 million years ago) and before the beginning of agriculture (about 10 thousand years BC). People lived mainly by gathering and hunting.

Mesolithic- Middle Stone Age, from 10 thousand years BC to 6 thousand years BC. Covers the period from the last ice age to the rise in global sea levels. At this time, stone tools become smaller, which makes their scope wider. Fishing is developing more actively, presumably at this time the domestication of the dog as a hunting assistant took place

Neolithic- the new Stone Age does not have clear time boundaries, since different cultures passed through this stage in different time. Characterized by the transition from gathering to production, i.e. agriculture and hunting, the Neolithic ends with the beginning of metal processing, i.e. the beginning of the Iron Age.

Ancient world

This is the period between primitive society and the Middle Ages in Europe. Although the period of the ancient world can be attributed to the civilizations in which writing arose, for example, Sumerian, and this is about 5.5 thousand years BC, usually under the term “ ancient world" or "classical antiquity", refers to ancient Greek and Roman history, which is from about the 770s BC to about 476 AD (the year the Roman Empire fell).

The ancient world is famous for its civilizations - Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, the Persian Empire, the Arab Caliphate, the Chinese Empire, the Mongol Empire.

The main features of the ancient world are a sharp leap in culture, associated primarily with the development of agriculture, the formation of cities, the army, and trade. If in primitive society there were cults and deities, then during the Ancient World religion developed and philosophical movements emerged.

Middle Ages or Middle Ages

Regarding the time frame, scientists disagree, since the end of this period in Europe did not mean its end throughout the world. Therefore, it is generally accepted that the Middle Ages lasted from approximately the 5th century (collapse of the Roman Empire) AD until the 15-16th or even the 18th century (technological breakthrough)

Distinctive features of the period are the development of trade, lawmaking, stable development technologies, strengthening the influence of cities. At the same time, there was a transition from slavery to feudalism. Sciences develop, the power of religion increases, which leads to crusades and other wars based on religion.

New time

The transition to a new time is characterized by a qualitative leap that humanity has made in the field of technology. Thanks to this breakthrough, agricultural civilizations, whose prosperity was built on the presence of a large territory that made it possible to stock up on provisions, are moving to industry, to fundamentally new conditions of life and consumption. At this time, Europe, which became the source of this technological breakthrough, is rising, a humanistic attitude towards the world is developing, and there is an active rise in science and art.

Modern times

Modern times include the period since 1918, i.e. since the First World War. The period is characterized by an increasing pace of globalization, the increasing role of information in the life of society, two world wars and many revolutions. Generally modern times characterized as a stage in which individual states realize their global influence and planetary scale of existence. Not only the interests of individual countries and rulers, but also global existence come to the fore.

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Historical periods are usually distinguished from the point of view general ideas and directions. The names of eras are given retrospectively, after assessments of past events. Such periodization greatly affects the accuracy of subsequent studies, so you should be extremely careful here. What historical eras are in this moment presented?

Chronology of historical eras

Antiquity

There are several other main periods in this era:

• Early Antiquity;
• Classical Antiquity;
• Late Antiquity.

This period of history lasted from the beginning of the 8th century BC. e., until the end of the 6th century AD. e. The cultural heritage of ancient times was preserved in the life, language, culture and traditions of many Romanesque peoples. Elements of classical antiquity remained for a long time in the core of the Eastern Roman Empire until the 9th century AD. e.

Middle Ages

Middle Ages. It came after the end of the ancient era. The beginning of this branch of history is considered to be the collapse of the Western Roman Empire at the end of the 5th century. But there is still a lot of controversy about when the end of the era came. There are several options for what became the end of the Middle Ages:

• Fall of Constantinople in 1453;
• Discovery of America in 1492;
• Beginning of the Reformation in 1517;
• Beginning of the English Revolution in 1640;
• End of the Thirty Years' War in 1648.

In recent times, the end of the era dates back to the 15th-16th centuries. It is most correct to consider this great era a global process, as well as a special period in the development of each country. What eras are there in the further perspective of history?

Renaissance

Next came the Renaissance. What century dates back to its beginning? The approximate start of this era is considered to be the beginning of the 14th century, and the approximate end came in the 16th century. The most distinctive and characteristic feature of the revival is considered to be that it bore the secular side of culture and interest in human activity, as well as in the individual himself. There is a revival of ancient culture. This paradigm arose after changes occurred in European society. Secular centers of art and science appeared in cities, the activities of which were uncontrolled by the church. The country of origin of this era was Italy.

Baroque

Baroque. Great Italy is also considered the center of this culture. In Italian cities, the era originated in the 16th-14th centuries, namely in Rome, Venice, Florence and Mantua. This turn of history is considered to be the beginning of the triumph of the formation of “Western civilization.” What era begins after the unexpected Baroque?

Classicism

• Classicism. This direction of artistic style in European art began after the Baroque in the 17th century, and ended in the 19th century. This direction was based on rationalism. For example, works of art from the era of classicism must be built on strict canons. For classicism, only the eternal and unchanging were of interest. Classicism established a strict hierarchy of all genres that could not be mixed in any way:
  • Epic;
  • Tragedy;
  • Comedy;
  • Satire;
  • Fable.

Romanticism

Romanticism, which began in the 18th century, affirms the spiritual and creative life of each individual, depicts strong and fighting characters. The spread went to all spheres of human activity. Romantic began to be called everything strange, unknown, fantastic, original, existing only in books, and not in real life. What eras exist after the romantic perception of reality surged?

Impressionism

Impressionism originated in France in the 19th century and then spread throughout the world. All representatives of this trend tried to depict everything around in real outlines, but from the perspective of mobility and with the introduction of their impressions. The most important thing was to be able to correctly convey your impressions in painting, literature and music.

Expressionism

Expressionism is a movement in European art that began to develop in the twentieth century during the formation of modernism. The greatest recognition and growth was achieved in Germany and Austria. Expressionism strives not only to depict and convey reality, but also to most clearly convey all the emotions of the author. He was realized in many directions: painting, theater, literature, music, dance and architecture. And this is the first trend that found its implementation in cinema.

Why did this era arise? It was painful reaction at the ugliness of capitalist civilization. Many emotions were conveyed: fear, anxiety, disappointment and despair. Each expressionist is characterized by the subjectivity of the entire creative process, because expression must prevail over image. Here you can often catch the motive of screaming and pain.

Radical constructivism

Radical constructivism is not a reflection of reality, but a reflection of each individual as he subjectively sees each real thing. After all, this happens after a person learns everything around him. Each person in this era is considered as a closed system.

Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism. The creation that was created during such a period is characterized by a manifestation of antiquity, renaissance, and classicism. Neoclassicism is characteristic of amazing architectural art and fine art movements.

What is the current era of development? At this historical stage, a new era has begun. During this period of history, a new civilization, a system of relations in the European world is emerging and spreading to other parts of the world. What eras there are surprises many, leaving various mysteries that will be solved by the next generations of the whole world!

The number of styles and trends is huge, if not infinite. The key feature by which works can be grouped into styles is the common principles of artistic thinking. The replacement of one method of artistic thinking by another (alternation of types of compositions, methods of spatial construction, color features) is not accidental. Our perception of art has also historically changed.
By building a system of styles in a hierarchical order, we will adhere to the Eurocentric tradition. The most important concept in the history of art is the concept of era. Each era is characterized by a certain “picture of the world”, which consists of philosophical, religious, political ideas, scientific ideas, psychological characteristics of worldview, ethical and moral standards, aesthetic criteria of life, by which one era is distinguished from another. These are the Primitive Age, the Age of the Ancient World, Antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Modern Age.
Styles in art do not have clear boundaries; they smoothly transform into one another and are in continuous development, mixing and opposition. Within the framework of one historical artistic style, a new one is always born, and that, in turn, passes into the next. Many styles coexist at the same time and therefore there are no “pure styles” at all.
Several styles can coexist in the same historical era. For example, Classicism, Academicism and Baroque in the 17th century, Rococo and Neoclassicism in the 18th century, Romanticism and Academicism in the 19th century. Styles such as classicism and baroque are called great styles because they apply to all types of art: architecture, painting, decorative and applied arts, literature, music.
It is necessary to distinguish between: artistic styles, directions, movements, schools and features individual styles individual masters. Within one style there can be several artistic movements. An artistic direction consists of both typical characteristics of a given era and unique methods of artistic thinking. Art Nouveau style, for example, includes a number of trends from the turn of the century: post-impressionism, symbolism, fauvism, etc. On the other hand, the concept of symbolism as an artistic movement is well developed in literature, while in painting it is very vague and unites artists who are so different stylistically that they are often interpreted only as a worldview that unites them.

Below will be given definitions of eras, styles and trends that are one way or another reflected in modern fine and decorative arts.

	- an artistic style that developed in the countries of Western and Central Europe in the 12th-15th centuries. It was the result of the centuries-long evolution of medieval art, its highest stage and at the same time the first pan-European, international artistic style in history. He covered all types of art - architecture, sculpture, painting, stained glass, book design, decorative and applied arts. basis gothic style there was an architecture that is characterized by pointed arches directed upward, multi-colored stained glass windows, and a visual dematerialization of form. Elements of Gothic art can often be found in modern design interiors, in particular in wall painting, less often in easel painting. Since the end of the last century, there has been a gothic subculture, clearly manifested in music, poetry, and clothing design.
	(Renaissance) - (French Renaissance, Italian Rinascimento) An era in the cultural and ideological development of a number of countries in Western and Central Europe, as well as some countries of Eastern Europe. Basic distinctive features Renaissance culture: secular character, humanistic worldview, appeal to antiquity cultural heritage, a kind of “revival” of it (hence the name). Renaissance culture has specific features transitional era from the Middle Ages to modern times, in which the old and the new, intertwining, form a unique, qualitatively new alloy. The question of the chronological boundaries of the Renaissance (in Italy - 14-16 centuries, in other countries - 15-16 centuries), its territorial distribution and national characteristics. Elements of this style in contemporary art quite often used in wall paintings, less often in easel painting.
	- (from the Italian maniera - technique, manner) a movement in European art of the 16th century. Representatives of mannerism moved away from the Renaissance harmonious perception of the world, the humanistic concept of man as a perfect creation of nature. A keen perception of life was combined with a programmatic desire not to follow nature, but to express the subjective " inner idea"an artistic image born in the soul of the artist. It manifested itself most clearly in Italy. Italian mannerism of the 1520s (Pontormo, Parmigianino, Giulio Romano) is characterized by dramatic sharpness of images, tragic worldview, complexity and exaggerated expression of poses and motives of movement, elongated proportions figures, coloristic and light-and-shadow dissonances. Recently, it has begun to be used by art historians to designate phenomena in modern art associated with the transformation of historical styles.
	- a historical artistic style that became widespread initially in Italy in the middle. XVI-XVII centuries, and then in France, Spain, Flanders and Germany in the XVII-XVIII centuries. More broadly, this term is used to define the ever-renewing tendencies of a restless, romantic attitude, thinking in expressive, dynamic forms. Finally, in every time, in almost every historical artistic style, one can find its own “Baroque period” as a stage of the highest creative upsurge, tension of emotions, explosiveness of forms.
	- artistic style in Western European art of the 17th - early years. XIX century and in Russian XVIII - early. XIX, who turned to the ancient heritage as an ideal to follow. It manifested itself in architecture, sculpture, painting, decorative and applied arts. Classical artists considered antiquity the highest achievement and made it their standard in art, which they sought to imitate. Over time, it degenerated into academicism.
	- a direction in European and Russian art of the 1820-1830s, which replaced classicism. The Romantics highlighted individuality, contrasting the ideal beauty of the classicists with an “imperfect” reality. Artists were attracted to bright, rare, extraordinary phenomena, as well as images of a fantastic nature. In the art of romanticism, acute individual perception and experience play an important role. Romanticism freed art from abstract classicist dogmas and turned it to national history and images of folklore.
	- (from Latin sentiment - feeling) - the second direction of Western art half of the XVIII., expressing disappointment in “civilization” based on the ideals of “reason” (Enlightenment ideology). S. proclaims feeling, solitary reflection, simplicity rural life"little man" J. J. Rousseau is considered the ideologist of S.
	- a direction in art that strives to depict with the greatest truth and authenticity how external form, and the essence of phenomena and things. How creative method combines individual and typical features when creating an image. The longest direction in existence, developing from the primitive era to the present day.
	- direction in European artistic culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Arose as a reaction to the dominance of the norms of bourgeois “common sense” in the humanitarian sphere (in philosophy, aesthetics - positivism, in art - naturalism), symbolism primarily took shape in French literature of the late 1860s-70s, and later became widespread in Belgium and Germany , Austria, Norway, Russia. The aesthetic principles of symbolism largely went back to the ideas of romanticism, as well as to some doctrines of the idealistic philosophy of A. Schopenhauer, E. Hartmann, partly F. Nietzsche, to the creativity and theorizing of the German composer R. Wagner. Symbolism contrasted living reality with the world of visions and dreams. A universal tool comprehension of the secrets of existence and individual consciousness was considered a symbol generated by poetic insight and expressing the otherworldly meaning of phenomena hidden from ordinary consciousness. The creative artist was seen as a mediator between the real and the supersensible, everywhere finding “signs” of world harmony, prophetically guessing signs of the future both in modern phenomena and in events of the past.
	- (from the French impression - impression) a direction in art of the last third of the 19th - early 20th centuries, which arose in France. The name was introduced by the art critic L. Leroy, who disparaged the exhibition of artists in 1874, where, among others, the painting “Sunrise” by C. Monet was presented. Impression". Impressionism affirmed the beauty of the real world, emphasizing the freshness of the first impression and the variability of the environment. The predominant attention to solving purely pictorial problems reduced the traditional idea of ​​drawing as the main component of a work of art. Impressionism had a powerful impact on art European countries and the USA, awakened interest in real-life stories. (E. Manet, E. Degas, O. Renoir, C. Monet, A. Sisley, etc.)
	- a movement in painting (synonymous with divisionism), which developed within the framework of neo-impressionism. Neo-Impressionism originated in France in 1885 and also spread to Belgium and Italy. Neo-Impressionists tried to apply in art the latest achievements in the field of optics, according to which painting made with separate dots of primary colors in visual perception gives a fusion of colors and the entire gamut of painting. (J. Seurat, P. Signac, C. Pissarro).
	Post-Impressionism- a conditional collective name for the main directions of French painting in the XIX - 1st quarter. XX century The art of post-impressionism arose as a reaction to impressionism, which focused on the transfer of the moment, on the feeling of picturesqueness and lost interest in the shape of objects. Among the post-impressionists are P. Cezanne, P. Gauguin, V. Gogh and others.
	- style in European and American art at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. Modernism reinterpreted and stylized the features of art from different eras, and developed its own artistic techniques based on the principles of asymmetry, ornamentality and decorativeness. Natural forms also become the object of modernity stylization. This explains not only the interest in floral ornaments in modernist works, but also their very compositional and plastic structure - the abundance of curvilinear outlines, floating nerves, new contours reminiscent of plant forms. Closely connected with modernity is symbolism, which served as the aesthetic and philosophical basis for modernity, relying on modernity as a plastic realization of its ideas. Art Nouveau had in different countries different names, which are essentially synonymous: Art Nouveau - in France, Secession - in Austria, Art Nouveau - in Germany, Liberty - in Italy.
	- (from the French modern - modern) the general name of a number of art movements of the first half of the 20th century, which are characterized by the denial of traditional forms and aesthetics of the past. Modernism is close to avant-garde and opposite to academicism.
	- a name that unites a range of artistic movements common in the 1905-1930s. (Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Expressionism, Dadaism, Surrealism). All these directions are united by the desire to renew the language of art, rethink its tasks, and gain freedom of artistic expression.
	- direction in art from XIX - AD. XX century, based on the creative lessons of the French artist Paul Cezanne, who reduced all forms in the image to the simplest geometric shapes, and color - to contrasting constructions of warm and cold tones. Cezanne served as one of the starting points for Cubism. To a large extent, Cézanneism also influenced the domestic realistic school of painting.
	- (from fauve - wild) avant-garde movement in French art AD. XX century The name “wild” was given by modern critics to a group of artists who performed in 1905 at the Paris Salon of Independents, and was ironic. The group included A. Matisse, A. Marquet, J. Rouault, M. de Vlaminck, A. Derain, R. Dufy, J. Braque, C. van Dongen and others. The Fauvists were brought together by their attraction to laconic expressiveness of forms and intense coloristic solutions , the search for impulses in primitive creativity, the art of the Middle Ages and the East.
	- deliberate simplification visual arts, imitation of the primitive stages of art development. This term refers to the so-called. naive art of artists who did not receive special education, but were involved in the general artistic process late XIX - early. XX century. The works of these artists - N. Pirosmani, A. Russo, V. Selivanov and others - are characterized by a peculiar childishness in the interpretation of nature, a combination of a generalized form and petty literalness in detail. Primitivism of form does not at all predetermine the primitiveness of content. It often serves as a source for professionals who borrow forms, images, and methods from folk, essentially primitive art. N. Goncharova, M. Larionov, P. Picasso, A. Matisse drew inspiration from primitivism.
	- a direction in art that developed on the basis of following the canons of antiquity and the Renaissance. It was common in many European schools of art from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Academicism turned classical traditions into a system of “eternal” rules and regulations that fettered creative searches, and tried to contrast imperfect living nature with “high” improved, non-national and timeless forms of beauty brought to perfection. Academicism is characterized by a preference for subjects from ancient mythology, biblical or historical themes scenes from the artist’s contemporary life.
	- (French cubisme, from cube - cube) direction in art of the first quarter of the 20th century. The plastic language of cubism was based on the deformation and decomposition of objects into geometric planes, a plastic shift of shape. The birth of Cubism occurred in 1907-1908 - the eve of the First World War. The undisputed leader of this trend was the poet and publicist G. Apollinaire. This movement was one of the first to embody the leading trends further development art of the twentieth century. One of these trends was the dominance of the concept over the artistic value of the painting. J. Braque and P. Picasso are considered the fathers of cubism. Fernand Léger, Robert Delaunay, Juan Gris and others joined the emerging movement.
	- a movement in literature, painting and cinema that arose in 1924 in France. It contributed significantly to the formation of consciousness modern man. The main figures of the movement are Andre Breton, Louis Aragon, Salvador Dali, Luis Buñuel, Joan Miro and many other artists from all over the world. Surrealism expressed the idea of ​​existence beyond the real; the absurd, the unconscious, dreams, and daydreams play a particularly important role here. One of the characteristic methods of the surrealist artist is the withdrawal from conscious creativity, which makes it a tool, different ways extracting bizarre images of the subconscious, akin to hallucinations. Surrealism has survived several crises, survived the second world war and gradually, merging with mass culture, intersecting with the trans-avant-garde, it entered postmodernism as an integral part.
	- (from Lat. futurum - future) literary and artistic movement in the art of the 1910s. Assigning itself the role of a prototype of the art of the future, futurism as its main program put forward the idea of ​​​​destructing cultural stereotypes and instead offered an apologia for technology and lowness as the main signs of the present and the future. An important artistic idea of ​​futurism was the search for a plastic expression of the speed of movement as the main sign of the pace of modern life. The Russian version of futurism was called cubofuturism and was based on a combination of the plastic principles of French cubism and European general aesthetic installations of futurism ism.

Lecture “Topic No. 2”

Epochs, styles, directions

A work of art is a form of existence of art. It reflects the world in all its complexity of diversity and aesthetic richness.

Artists* always strive to convey the world truthfully. In the process of creativity, a certain artistic method is born, so truth in art is not always identical to verisimilitude.

In the formation of artistic and figurative techniques and methods, many social and cultural prerequisites are involved, associated with ideas about truth, with the religious and ideological views of society, with the worldview of the artist himself.

The historically established structural uniformity of artistic techniques, artistic language, relationships between content and form, which in a given era unites the works of masters who worked in different types and genres of art, is calledstyle .

The word style can be used in a broad sense - lifestyle, playing style, clothing style, etc., and in a narrow sense - “style in art”.

In different historical eras, Style manifests itself in certain types, which are called actual.

Social development occurs unevenly. If it is slow in nature, as in Antiquity, then the change in the system of artistic forms occurs very slowly over thousands of years, centuries, then such development is usually called an artistic era.

Later, from the 17th century. world public development is significantly accelerating, art is faced with diverse tasks, aggravation of social contradictions, so there is a rapid change of styles.

In the art of the 19th and 20th centuries, only individual stylistic trends appear; the ideological instability of society prevents the formation of unified styles, and quickly replacing each other trends arise.

Primitive art (20,000 - 5,000 BC) developed in complete dependence on nature, on the everyday needs of man, and was associated with magic. Characteristic is the development of ceramics with regular shapes, ornaments, carvings, and realistic images of animals (rock paintings).

*The word “artists” is used in a broad sense, i.e. artists, architects, writers, etc. , i.e. creators of works of art.

:

Rock paintings depicting animals. Paintings in the caves of Lascaux (France), Altamira (Spain), Tassilin Ajer (North Africa).

Sculptural images of women, the so-called Paleolithic Venus.

Megalithic structures Stonehenge (England), Stone Grave (Ukraine).

Ancient despotism (the art of the interfluve and Ancient Egypt (5000 BC - VIII century BC)) represent an artistic era. During this period, many artistic discoveries took place, but the main thing that defines the era remains unchanged:

Complete submission to religion,

Development of funeral cults,

Development of canons in all types of art,

Formation of the fundamentals of construction equipment,

Synthesis of arts in architecture,

gigantism.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Mesopotamia.

Bulls - I’m walking from the palace of Sargon II to Dur Shurrukin.

Harp with a bull's head from the royal tomb of Ur.

Gate of the goddess Ishtar. Babylon.

Ancient y Egypt:

Pyramids at Giza

Temples of Amon Ra in Karnak and Luxor

Abu Simbel Temple

Thutmose. Sculpture. Head of Queen Nefertiti

Sculpture of the royal scribe Kaya

Fayum portrait of a young man wearing a golden crown

Antiquity (art Ancient Greece(VII-III century BC) and Ancient Rome (III century AD)) explained the world mythologically. It was both realistic and illusory - a fantastic view of the world. In art this is expressed in:

glorification of the ideal image

harmony of internal and external appearance

humanization of art

Sculpture becomes contemporary art. Ancient artists convey the image of a perfect person with the highest skill and realism. Sculptural portraiture developed in Ancient Rome.

Antiquity developed building systems that we still use today. In Ancient Greece, an order building system developed, a combination of columns and ceilings, and in Ancient Rome, based on the discovery of cement, a round arch and a dome were used. New types of public and engineering buildings were created.

:

Knossos Palace, Fr. Crete

Lion Gate, Mycenae

Ancient Greece:

Architectural ensemble of the Parthenon (main temples: Parthenon, Erechtheion).

Pergamon Altar.

Halicarnassus Mausoleum.

Phidias (sculptor). Sculpture of the Parthenon.

Phidias. Sculpture of Olympian Zeus.

Miron (sculptor). Discus thrower.

Polykleitos (sculptor). Spearman.

Sculpture. Venus de Milo.

Sculpture. Nike of Samothrace.

Sculpture. Laocoon.

Ancient Rome:

Pantheon in Rome (temple of all gods)

Colosseum, Flavian Amphitheater (Rome)

Pont Du Gard (France)

Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius

Trajan's Column (Rome)

Medieval art (V – XVI centuries) is subordinated to Christian ideology, filled with allegories and symbols. Characteristic is the synthesis of art subordinate to Christian liturgy. The current view was architecture.

The era is divided into two periods: Romanesque (XI - XII centuries) and Gothic (late XII - XIV centuries)

Romanesque architecture uses design features of the architecture of Ancient Rome (Roma). Romanesque cathedrals are built in the form of basilicas, they are ponderous with dark interiors, with two round towers on the facade of the building. The sculpture decorating the cathedral is planar, schematic (usually a relief), located mainly above the portals.

Gothic art - This is a qualitative leap in the development of medieval art. The cathedral, while maintaining the shape of a basilica, is now being built on the basis of a new frame system. The essence of which is that a brick frame is built using a pointed arch. The spaces between the pillars - supports (buttresses) are filled with windows - stained glass. Therefore, the interiors become as if permeated with light. The building is richly decorated with sculpture and architectural decoration. The façade is flanked by towers that are now square in plan. The façade of the cathedral, the only real wall, is richly decorated with sculpture. Now very realistic, round sculpture predominates. Above the main portal there is a round carved window called the “rose”.

Late Gothic (XV - XVI centuries) is distinguished by the architectural decoration of the facade - it resembles tongues of flame, the rose window disappears. This kind of Gothic was called flaming.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Worms Cathedral (Germany) – Romanesque architecture

Notre Dame de Paris (Paris) - Gothic

Cologne Cathedral (Germany) – late

St. Anne's Cathedral (Vilnius, Lithuania) – flaming

After the collapse of the Great Roman Empire in the 4th century AD, it was divided into the Western Empire, with its capital in Rome, and the Eastern Empire, with its capital in Byzantium. In the West, Catholicism and, accordingly, Romanesque and Gothic culture developed. And in Eastern (it became known as Byzantium) Orthodoxy spread. In Byzantium, the entire culture was also subordinated to religious ideology. Byzantium existed from the 4th to the 15th centuries. but art reached its greatest flowering during the reign of Justinian (VI century AD). In architecture, centric, domed, and later cross-domed cathedrals corresponded to Orthodoxy. Monumental painting (mosaics and frescoes) and easel painting (icon painting) are developing. Subject to religious dogma, painting was strictly canonized.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Sophia of Constantinople (Istanbul)

Church of San Appolinare (Ravenna)

Church of San Vitale (Ravenna)

Old Russian state (X - XVII centuries) adopted Orthodoxy, respectively, the cross-domed system of temple buildings and the picturesque canon. But in the process of development it developed unique national features. A national type of temple building is emerging: cross-domed, cuboid with wavy or keel-shaped walls (zakomar). The domes are raised on high drums.

In strictly canonized painting, the Slavic type of face predominates, Russian saints appear, national ornaments appear, and the entire characteristic of the images becomes more humane.

The influence of folk architecture was very strongly manifested in the transfer of artistic expressions, decor, and color into stone construction and was called “patterned” (XVI-XVII centuries). Folk technical techniques were embodied in the appearance of stone and tented temples.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Sofia Kyiv, Kyiv. (13 domes)

Demetrius Cathedral, Vladimir. (1 dome)

Church of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, Chernigov. (1 dome)

Aristotle Fiorovanti. Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. (5 domes)

Icon of Our Lady of Vladimir.

St. Basil's Cathedral (Protection on the Moat), Moscow.

Icon of the Intercession with a portrait of B. Khmelnitsky.

Oranta. Mosaic of Sophia of Kyiv.

A. Rublev. Trinity (icon).

Renaissance (Renessanse) as the basis of the ancient heritage at a new historical stage arose in Italy, here at the end of the 13th – 16th centuries the humanistic ideals of antiquity were revived. Hence the name of the era “Renaissance”. The Renaissance claims that the world is knowable, and man is a titanic personality capable of changing the world. Artists discovered the individuality of man, so the portrait appeared; They developed the theory and practice of perspective, artistically mastered the anatomy of the human body, developed the harmony of composition, used color effects, the depiction of nudes and the female body was a visible argument in the fight against medieval asceticism.

In the sculpture, the main image is the shuttle, and not the deity. The main types of sculpture have emerged: monumental and decorative. After antiquity, the equestrian statue is being revived again.

In architecture, along with the requirement of ancient forms (the use of arcades, the Greek portico), the development of its own artistic language occurs. A new type of public buildings is being created, a city palace (parade ground) and country houses - villas..

Major monuments and leading artists :

Giotto di Bonde. Murals of the Chapel del Arena, Padua.

Botticelli. Birth of Venus.

Leonardo da Vinci. Jokona. Mona Lisa.

Leonardo da Vinci. Madonna of the Rocks.

Leonardo da Vinci. Painting “The Last Supper” (Milan).

Rafael Santi. Sistine Madonna.

Rafael Santi. Murals in the Vatican (Vatican Stanza, Rome).

Michelangelo. Sculpture. David.

Michelangelo. Ceiling paintings of the Sistine Chapel (Vatican)

Giorgione. Judith.

Giorgione. Storm.

Titian. Portrait of Pope Paul III with his nephews.

Titian. Young man with a glove.

Titian. Assunta.

Veronese. Marriage in Cana of Galilee.

Brunelleschi. Church of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence.

Palladio. Villa near Rome.

Donattello. Equestrian statue of Gattamelata, Padua.

In the Nordic countries (Netherlands, Germany, France) the ideas of the Renaissance penetrated from the end of the 15th century. The uniqueness of national cultures, medieval traditions combined with the ideas of the Italian Renaissance, have developed a unique style, which is commonly called Northern Renaissance.

The 17th century was a time of intensive formation of national states, national cultures, the establishment of absolute power in some countries and the emergence of bourgeois relations in others. It became impossible to express the complexity and inconsistency of the era in one artistic formula, therefore in the 17th century a variety of artistic forms arose, i.e. styles. In the 17th century, styles appeared: classicism, baroque, realism.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Durer. Portrait of a Venetian.

Durer. Four Apostles.

Durer. Graphic illustrations for "Apocalypse"

Van Eyck. Madonna of Chancellor Rollin.

Van Eyck. Ghent Altarpiece.

Limburg brothers. Miniatures of “The Magnificent Book of Hours of the Duke of Berry.”

Bruegel. Blind.

Bosch. Ship of fools.

Baroque - the most common style of the 17th century. This is art built on contrasts, asymmetry, a tendency towards grandeur, and overload with decorative motifs.

In painting and sculpture characteristic:

diagonal compositions

image of exaggerated movement

illusory image

black and white contrasts

bright color, picturesque spot (in painting)

In architecture:

bent, volute-shaped forms

asymmetry

use of color

abundance of decor

the desire to deceive the eye and go beyond the real space: mirrors, enfilades, ceiling lamps depicting the sky.

ensemble organization of space

synthesis of arts

the contrast of elaborately decorated architecture and the clear geometry of gardens and parks, or city streets.

Baroque triumphed in those countries where feudalism and Catholic Church. These are the following countries: Italy, Spain, Flanders, later Germany and in the 18th century - Russia. (in architecture)

Major monuments and leading artists :

Caravaggio. Lute player.

Rubens. Perseus and Andromeda.

Rubens. Self-portrait with Isabella Brant.

Bernini. Sculpture "Ecstasy of Saint Teresa"

Bernini. Sculpture "Apollo and Daphne"

Jules Hardouin Mansart. Palace of Versailles (France).

Bernini. St. Peter's Square in Rome.

Classicism (lat. exemplary). French absolutism of the 17th century. regulated life, enclosing it within the strict framework of statehood. The hero of classicism is not free in his actions, but is subject to strict norms, social duty, humility of feelings with reason, adherence to abstract norms of virtue - this is the aesthetic ideal of classicism.

The classicism of the 17th century was a model for itself. chose Greek antiquity. IN architecture The Greek order is used. The sculpture contains ideal mythological images. In painting:

stern majesty

sublime beauty of images

horizontal or side-by-side composition

careful selection of details and colors

standard images, theatricality of gestures and feelings

Major monuments and leading artists :

Poussin. Arcadian shepherds.

Poussin. Seasons.

Lorren. The Rape of Europa.

Dutch culture. In the 17th century In the countries where capitalism was emerging, there was a struggle for national independence. The victory of the burghers determined the character of Dutch culture, the birth of realism, and the emergence of independent genres of easel painting (portrait, everyday genre, still life).

Major monuments and leading artists :

Holland XVII :

Rembrandt. Self-portrait with Saskia on her lap

Rembrandt. Return of the Prodigal Son.

Vermar of Delft. A girl reading a letter.

Vermar of Delft. Geographer.

Terborch. A glass of lemonade.

Hals. Gypsy.

Spain XVII :

Velazquez. Spinners.

Velazquez. Portrait of Pope Innok X

Velazquez. Surrender of Breda

Velazquez. Portrait of Inflanta Margherita

El Greco. Funeral of Count Orgaz

Rococo. With the beginning of the 18th century, a crisis of French absolutism emerged. Strict etiquette is replaced by an atmosphere of frivolity and pleasure. An art emerges that can satisfy the most elaborate and refined tastes - this is Rococo. This is a completely secular art, the main theme is love and erotic scenes, favorite heroines are nymphs, bacchantes, mythological and biblical themes of love.

This art of miniature forms found its main expression in painting and applied art. Light colors, fractional and openwork forms, complex patterns, asymmetry, creating a feeling of unease.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Watteau. Society in the park.

Boucher. Diana's bathing.

Boucher. Portrait of Madame Pampadour.

Fragonard. Swing.

Fragonard. A kiss on the sly.

Education. Since the 40s, a new social stratum of the emerging bourgeoisie, the so-called “third estate,” has appeared in France. This is what determined the development of the new philosophical and artistic movement, the Enlightenment. It originated in the depths of philosophy, and its meaning was that all people from birth have equal opportunities and only education and enlightenment (i.e. training) can distinguish them from the general mass of equal members of society.

The main genre is the everyday picture, depicting the modest life of the third estate; integrity and hard work are glorified.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Chardin. Cook.

Dreams. Spoiled child.

Houdon. Sculpture. Voltaire in a chair.

In England, the Enlightenment originated in literature at the end of the 17th century. Therefore, everyday painting becomes narrative, i.e. artists and graphic artists create whole series of paintings that consistently tell about the fate of the heroes and are of a moral and edifying nature. The English Enlightenment was characterized by the development of portraiture.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Hagarth. Fashionable marriage.

Gainsborough. Portrait of the Duchess de Beaufort.

Russian Enlightenment developed in the 18th – early 19th centuries and is associated with ideological and philosophical movements. Russian Enlightenmentists: philosophers - F. Prokopovich, A. Kantemir, M. Lomonosov and writers - Tatishchev, Fonvizin, Radishchev believed in the limitless mind of man, in the possibility of harmonizing society through the development of the creative principles of each individual, through education. At this time, home education is rapidly developing in Russia, new educational institutions are opening, and newspaper, magazine and book publishing is developing.

All this served educational purposes, the upbringing of the individual - the “son of the Fatherland”; and therefore the development of the portrait.

But the Russian Enlightenment also had an anti-serfdom orientation, because They quite rightly believed that peasants (serfs) were also endowed with a wealth of mental and emotional abilities.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Argunov. Portrait of P. Zhemchugova.

Nikitin. Portrait of a floor hetman.

Livitsky. Portraits of Smolyanok.

Borovikovsky. Portrait of Lopukhina.

Rokotov. Portrait of Struyskaya.

Shubin. Portrait of Golitsyn.

Falcone. Monument to Peter I in St. Petersburg (“Bronze Horseman”)

But creating ideal images of peasants, the art of the Enlighteners of the late 18th - early 19th centuries. merged with sentimentalism .

Major monuments and leading artists :

Tropinin. Portrait of A. Pushkin.

Tropinin. Goldsmith.

Venetsianov. Spring.

Venetsianov. On the arable land.

Baroque in Russian and Ukrainian architecture. With the advent of absolutist monarchies, including in the Vatican - the center of the capitalist church, the pomp, splendor, and theatricality of court art intensified, which contributed to the development of baroque in the architecture of Italy and France in the 18th century, in Russia (18th century), Ukraine (“Cossack baroque ") second half of the 17th - 18th centuries.

Features of Baroque architecture:

synthesis of arts in architecture

ensemble (a palace in a park with a large number of pavilions)

increase in decorativeness, stucco decorations, sculpture

the use of order elements: bent pediments, bunches of pilasters or semi-columns, niches that completely cover the wall and enhance the light and shadow contrast

color use: turquoise wall, white architectural details, gold molding

interiors: lush decorative theatricality, enfilades, painting with illusory effects, use of mirrors

Ukrainian or “Cossack Baroque”- This is a completely independent stage in the development of European Baroque. There is no palace pomp in it. Bent pediments, “creases” in the roofs and domes of churches are used. Wall decor is a flat carving, white on a white or light blue wall background. Instead of palaces, houses of the Cossack elite, offices, and collegiums are built. And the religious architecture continues the traditions of folk wooden architecture (three-domed cathedrals).

Major monuments and leading artists :

Rastrelli. Winter Palace (St. Petersburg)

Rastrelli. St. Andrew's Church (Kyiv)

Grigorovich Barsky. St. Nicholas Church on the Embankment (Kyiv)

Kovnir. Bell tower at the Far Caves (Kievo-Pechersk Lavra)

Kovnir. Intercession Cathedral in Kharkov.

In the last third of the 18th century, a bourgeois revolution took place in France. Its tasks and requirements for citizens of society coincided with the heroic-civic ideals of Roman antiquity. In Ancient Roman society, the individual, her freedom and even life are sacrificed to society. The story was interpreted as the act of an outstanding personality. It is the hero, the outstanding personality, who is the bearer of the moral values ​​of society. This became the model for artists of the late 18th century. and developed into the last great pan-European style.

Classicism (in the works of J. David it is customary to say “revolutionary classicism”).

Painting is characterized by the artistic techniques of 17th century classicism. But the historical picture reflects civic and journalistic themes, and the portraits, in accordance with the ideals of the revolution, reflected the personality, the image of a contemporary of the great changes.

From the beginning of the 19th century. classicism in painting loses its citizenship, only the external side remains: the strict logic of the composition of details, colors, statuesque figures. Thus, classicism in painting turns into academicism.

Major monuments and leading artists :

David. Death of Marat

David. Oath of the Horatii

Engr. Odalisque

Classicism in architecture. In France at the end of the 18th century, and in Russia from the beginning of the 19th century, the classicism style dominates in architecture. The style was formed under the influence of the ideas of patriotism and citizenship based on the use of ancient samples. Compositional techniques:

symmetry; usually the main building with a portico in the center and two wings

the sculpture is concentrated at the main entrance - the portico. A sculptural image of a chariot drawn by four or six horses driven by the goddess of Glory is often used.

Classicism is associated with the growth of cities and the need to organize their space. In Russia, classicism appears as the idea of ​​a universal style that creates uniform construction techniques; the use of local materials, plaster, creates new types of buildings: gymnasiums, universities, trading houses, triumphal arches, the type of noble estate.

The architectural style of late classicism is called empire style- completing the development of style. Along with the use of ancient forms (both Greek and Roman), stylized Egyptian motifs appear, especially in interiors.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Russia. General Staff Building (St. Petersburg)

Voronikhin. Kazan Cathedral (St. Petersburg)

Bozhenov. Pashkov house. Moscow.

Baretti. University building. Kyiv.

Soufflot. Pantheon (Paris)

Romanticism. The Great French Bourgeois Revolution ended with the restoration of the monarchy. The style of romanticism (early 19th century) was the result of people's disappointment in the possibility of a reasonable transformation of society based on the principles of freedom, equality, and fraternity. The desire to rise above the prose of life, to escape from the oppressive everyday life, which is why artists are so interested in exotic subjects, the dark fantasy of the Middle Ages, and the theme of the struggle for freedom. Artists are interested in the ancient world of man, his individual exclusivity. The romantic hero is always portrayed in emergency situations; usually he is a proud, lonely hero, experiencing vivid and strong passions. This is expressed in the expressive and sensual power of color, where color begins to dominate the design.

Painting is characterized by:

nervous excitement, composition expression

strong contrasts of color spots

exotic themes, gothic symbolism

software works, i.e. based on historical and literary subjects

Major monuments and leading artists :

Gericault. Raft "Medusa".

Delacroix. Freedom at the Barricades.

Ryud. Sculptural relief "Marseillaise" on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Goya. Mahi.

Goya. Portrait of the king's family.

The history of mankind is divided into three eras (currently: new ones may begin in the future):

First era: from the emergence of humanity (2-2.5 million years ago) to the Neolithic Revolution (approximately 8,000 BC).

Second era: from the Neolithic Revolution (ca. 8,000 BC) to the Industrial Revolution (late 18th to early 19th century).

The third era is from the industrial revolution (late 18th - early 19th centuries) to the present.

[Dates are based on better result: Of course, you can still find tribes that, in terms of their level of development, still live in the First Epoch.]

The Neolithic and Industrial Revolutions are extremely important events in human history, second only to the emergence of humanity. I regret to admit that I do not understand their reasons at all. No, in an argument with a person who is confident that he understands them, I can generate a more or less plausible explanation, but I have no real understanding. However, the details are below.

1. The first era and the Neolithic revolution.

A characteristic feature of the First Epoch is the absence of any progress noticeable to contemporaries. The illusion of inviolability, immutability of the universe and way of life.

To see progress, you need to look like scientists - at periods of time of HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of years, and, moreover, with attention to the smallest details. This is the only way to see any semblance of progress.

Living in such a society, progress cannot be seen: this weak, weak upward trend over periods of time of several generations cannot be isolated from fluctuations, fluctuations in the standard of living for many different reasons.

Such societies can exist stable for as long as desired. long period time. They have no internal reasons for development. It is not at all surprising that somewhere in the Amazon jungle you can find tribes who still live in the First Age. And if they are not found, they can remain in this state for many thousands of years, tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of years. If, with the help of a “time machine,” any of their residents are transported into the past a thousand years or two, he will find himself in a cultural environment that is completely familiar to him.

Another thing is surprising: why were some of these communities still able to reach the next stage of development?

The reasons are absolutely unclear.

Was early agriculture somehow superior to hunting?

Humans are biologically more adapted to hunting. Psychologically, such activities are perceived as more pleasant. The work of a farmer is quite the opposite. Therefore, for people to choose to be farmers, there must have been very compelling reasons.

When talking about bread, don’t imagine the kind that you eat every day. And don't imagine medieval bread. The bread that the first farmers prepared was poorly nutritious, tasteless and wildly, monstrously labor-intensive to prepare!
The same goes for rice, corn and other edible plants.

Of course, the result of the hunt was unstable, because it depended not only on the skill of the hunters, but also on objective reasons such as changes in the numbers and migrations of animals. But is agriculture better? It is in the Third Age that agriculture gives stable results. In the Second Age, the result of agriculture is risky, but the risk is moderate. In the First Age, agriculture is extremely unreliable. About the same level as hunting.

Anthropologists know examples of tribes of primitive farmers and hunters living next to each other in the same natural conditions. As a rule, their standard of living is quite comparable. So why did the transition to farming happen?

The Neolithic revolution also has a second mystery - its independent, but almost synchronous beginning in several regions of the planet (the time difference is measured in millennia, but against the backdrop of two million years of human history this is really one moment).

I can come up with a rationale, but it doesn’t convince me. I can't understand this riddle.

2. Second era.

The Second Epoch, unlike the First, has a pronounced non-stationarity: a society that has entered the Second Epoch cannot remain unchanged for millennia or even centuries. It will inevitably have periods of economic and technical takeoff, which, although often compensated by subsequent recessions, still exist. Unlike First Age societies.

Another important feature of the Second Age is its complete dependence on agriculture.
It is no coincidence that there was a widespread belief among Second Age economists that wealth was created only in agriculture, and that all other people only redistributed it.

Do you see a decline in the country of the Second Age? Most likely, it began with lean years.
Do you see the rise? Surely it started with good harvests.

Third characteristic The second era, which radically distinguishes it from the Third, is the REVERSE relationship between the growth of the total and per capita income of the inhabitants of any country.

If a country gets richer, the standard of living of the majority of its inhabitants (except for the small elite) falls. And vice versa. For example, from the middle of 14 (from the beginning " Black Death") and until the mid-15th century, Europe experienced a colossal decline... but never in history has the standard of living of European peasants been so high! It will only be surpassed with the end of the Second Age.

For us, inhabitants of the Third Age, this looks paradoxical, but this is exactly the case. Why? Precisely because the economy of the Second Age is tightly connected with agriculture, and the population dynamics are Malthusian.

As a rule, general economic growth was accompanied by population growth. And this forced the use of less fertile land, increasing total product but reducing marginal product. So it turns out that if the total product of a country has grown, say, from 1000 conventional units to 2000, then the number of its inhabitants has increased, for example, from 100 to 250, and for each conventional resident there is not 10 conventional units of income, but 8 .

For historians and economists, the Second Epoch is interesting for its UNIQUENESS and the ability to compare alternative paths of development.

The first era does not fit here: no matter how paradoxical it may sound, humanity was united. The point is that while the travel of people and the spread of information was very slow, the emergence of new knowledge was much slower. Thus, knowledge spread throughout humanity, almost without becoming obsolete.

The Third Age is even more unsuitable: with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the unity of the world became final and irreversible (without the complete degradation of humanity and a slide back into the Second Age).

But in the Second Age there were variations. The civilizations of Europe, Asia and North Africa are one system. Since ancient times they have been connected with each other trade routes. They knew very well about each other's existence.
But the civilizations of the South and Central America- a completely different matter! They have nothing to do with the Euro-Asian-North African civilization. It is all the more interesting to compare two alternative paths of development in the Second Age in order to understand which features are mandatory and which are accidentally fixed. Therefore, it is incredibly unfortunate that the conquistadors destroyed and destroyed absolutely priceless evidence of how the South and Central American countries were structured.

3. Industrial revolution.

If the Neolithic Revolution took place long before the beginning of recorded human history, then the Industrial Revolution occurred in the full light of history. We know thoroughly what happened and how. But WHY the industrial revolution happened is no less a mystery!

When fans of “alternative history” claim that the Egyptians could not have carried stones like those in the pyramids, they usually cite various giant stones from St. Petersburg as an example. The first reflex of the inhabitants of the Third Age is to say “Well, that was thousands of years earlier!” But once you turn on your mind, an amazing fact becomes clear: yes, the difference is centuries and millennia, but there are no fundamental changes! What can be done at the beginning of the 18th century AD, can be done a thousand or two years BC, well, perhaps a little more people will be needed, and they will have to work a little longer: the difference is only several times, but not even ten times.

The second era is characterized by cyclical development. It had both great ups and great downs. If we compare only the peaks of development, then it is completely unclear why the European peak of the 18th century was so special that it allowed us to move into the Third Age.

The classic explanation comes from science and technology.

The argument from science clearly doesn't work. During the First Epoch there was no science at all, and during the Second Epoch it was either in no way connected with technology or was its consequence: i.e. First, a new device is invented empirically, and only then an explanation is found for how it works. NTP, i.e. technological progress as a consequence of scientific progress is a characteristic feature of the Third Age. It did not exist before the Industrial Revolution (and even decades after it). Consequently, the development of science could not possibly be the cause of the industrial revolution.

The argument from technology is also not easy. What was there in 18th century Europe that was not, for example, in Alexandria of Ptolemaic Egypt? There was even a steam engine!

You can move forward: in medieval Europe there were major upswings in the 11th-13th centuries, and from the mid-15th to the mid-16th. However, as was typical for all economic upswings in the Second Age, they ended in recession and rollback.

You can also move backwards. Mediterranean 13th century. BC, on the eve of the Bronze Age Catastrophe - what was missing there for the industrial revolution? I don't understand.

The same is true in other major civilizations. And in India, and in China, and in Japan, there were also high rises and deep recessions. Why, why did not a single rise allow the industrial revolution to begin?

The more and more deeply you study the history of these countries, the less clear it is why Europe was ahead of them: for a long time they were quite comparable, moreover, Europe was often somewhat lagging behind in all respects. European dominance only emerged on the eve of the Industrial Revolution.

Another paradoxical feature of the industrial revolution is its INTENSITY for contemporaries.
Almost no one understood that they were witnessing a turning point in human history. Even the smartest and most observant people, such as Adam Smith, do not seem to understand the role of industry.

For comparison, here are the words of Roger Bacon, dating back to around 1260:
“It may happen that machines will be made by which the largest ships, piloted by a single man, will move faster than if they were full of rowers; that carts will be built that will move with incredible speed without the help of animals; that they will create flying machines in which a person... would beat the air with his wings like a bird... Machines will allow one to penetrate into the depths of seas and rivers."

But why did the industrial revolution happen at the end of the 18th century, but not at the end of the 13th? I don't know.

4. Third era.

It lasts too little time to draw any serious conclusions. Therefore, I will briefly name some of its important distinctive features that are already noticeable today:

The undeniable "arrow of time". History is neither stationary nor cyclical, and this is obvious even to ordinary people.
- Scientific and technological progress instead of technical progress characteristic of previous eras: first, knowledge about the world is discovered, and then new technology is created on the basis of it.
- Direct connection between total and per capita income. The development of a country improves the standard of living of its citizens.
- Exit from the “Malthusian trap”.
- Small world. If in the Second Age it still makes sense to divide humanity into separate civilizations, then in the Third the whole world is a single system, all elements of which are strongly connected with each other.

[About the First Age and the Neolithic Revolution]

The thesis about the stable production of surplus product can be perceived as an indication of an increase in the level and quality of life during the Neolithic revolution: before it, people lived on the verge of starvation, and after that, as a result of the transition to more progressive technologies, life became more abundant. This understanding was widespread until the 1970s, when American anthropologist Marshall Sahlins proved it wrong.

In his monograph The Economics of the Stone Age (1973), M. Sahlins, summarizing ethnographic and historical information, formulated a paradoxical conclusion: early farmers worked more, but had a lower standard of living than late primitive hunters and gatherers. The early agricultural peoples known in history worked, as a rule, a much larger number of days than those who lived until the 20th century spent on obtaining food. primitive hunters and gatherers. The idea of ​​the hungry life of backward peoples also turned out to be very exaggerated - among farmers, hunger strikes were more severe and regular. The fact is that in an appropriative economy, people did not take from nature everything that it could give them. The reason for this is not the imaginary laziness of backward peoples, but the specificity of their way of life, which does not attach importance to the accumulation of material wealth (which, moreover, is often impossible to accumulate due to the lack of technologies for long-term food storage).

A paradoxical conclusion arises, which is called the “Sahlins paradox”: During the Neolithic revolution, the improvement of agricultural production leads to a deterioration in living standards. In this case, can the Neolithic revolution be considered a progressive phenomenon if it lowers the standard of living? It turns out that it is possible if we consider the criteria of progress more broadly, without reducing them only to average per capita consumption.

What exactly was the progressiveness of the Neolithic revolution can be explained according to the model proposed by the American economic historians Douglas North and Robert Thomas.

In early primitive society, common property dominated: due to the small population, access to hunting grounds and fishing grounds was open to everyone without exception. This meant that there was common law to use the resource before its capture (the one who will be the first to capture) and the individual right to use the resource after capture. As a result, each tribe, collecting prey from the next area to which it migrated, was interested in the predatory consumption of public resources “here and now”, without caring about reproduction. When the territory's resources were depleted, they abandoned it and moved to a new place.

This situation, when each user is concerned with maximizing his personal short-term benefit without caring about the future, is what economists call the tragedy of the common property. Bye Natural resources were abundant, no problems arose. However, their depletion due to population growth led approximately 10 thousand years ago to the first ever revolution in production and in the social organization of society.

According to Sahlins' paradox, hunting and other types of appropriative farming provided much higher labor productivity than agriculture. Therefore, as long as the demographic load on nature did not exceed a certain threshold value, primitive tribes did not engage in productive farming, even if there were suitable conditions for this (say, plants suitable for cultivation). When, due to the depletion of natural resources, the labor productivity of hunters began to fall, population growth required a transition from hunting to agriculture, or the extinction of hunters from hunger. In principle, a third way out is also possible - to stop demographic pressure at a critical limit. However, primitive people rarely resorted to it due to a lack of understanding of environmental laws.

To move from hunting to farming, fundamental changes in property relations are necessary. Farming is a fundamentally sedentary activity: for many years or constantly, farmers exploit the same piece of land, the harvest from which depends not only on the weather, but also on the actions of people. Fertile land becomes a rare resource that requires protection. There is a need to protect cultivated lands from attempts to seize them by outsiders and resolve land conflicts between fellow tribesmen. As a result, the state begins to emerge as an institution whose main economic function is the protection of property rights.

D. North and R. Thomas proposed to consider the main content of the First Economic Revolution (as they called the Neolithic Revolution) the emergence of property rights that secure the exclusive rights of an individual, family, clan or tribe to land. Overcoming the tragedy of common property made it possible to stop the decline in the marginal product of labor and stabilize it.

The progress of social development during the Neolithic revolution is thus manifested not directly in the growth of the average per capita standard of living, but in an increase in population density and size. It is estimated that the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture allowed the population density to increase hundreds of times. Since this transition did not occur in all regions of the planet, the growth total number The growth of the planet's population occurred more slowly - not hundreds, but only tens of times.

[About Alexandria of Ptolemaic Egypt]

The first example, too distant and yet confusing, is the example of Ptolemaic Egypt. Should we have stopped there, taking the longest route? However, in Alexandria between 100 and 50 AD. BC, seventeen or eighteen centuries before Denis Palin, the phenomenon of steam took place. Is it such a small thing that the “engineer” Heron then invented the aeolipile, a kind of steam turbine, a toy that, however, set in motion a mechanism capable of remotely opening the heavy door of the temple? This discovery came after a considerable number of others: suction and pressure pumps, instruments that anticipated the thermometer and theodolite, fighting machines, although more theoretical than practical, that forced the compression or expansion of air, or the force of huge springs to work. In those distant centuries, Alexandria shone with all shades of passion for invention. For the past one or two centuries, various revolutions have been blazing there: cultural, commercial, scientific (Euclid, Ptolemy the astronomer, Eratosthenes); Dicaearchus, who apparently lived in the city at the beginning of the 3rd century BC, was the first geographer to “draw on a map a line of latitude that would run from the Strait of Gibraltar to Pacific Ocean, following along the Taurus and the Himalayas."

A careful consideration of the long Alexandrian chapter would, of course, take us too far, through the interesting Hellenistic world emerging from Alexander's conquests, where territorial states (such as Egypt and Syria) took the place of the earlier model of Greek city-polises. This is a transformation that cannot but remind us of the first steps of modern Europe. A statement also suggests itself, which will subsequently be often repeated: inventions came in groups, in large quantities, in series, as if they relied on each other, or, rather, as if some given society pushed them all together to the fore.

However, no matter how brilliantly intellectual the long Alexandrian chapter was, it one day ended without its inventions (and yet their peculiarity was their focus on technical applications: in the 3rd century Alexandria even founded a school of engineers) resulted in any there was a revolution in industrial production.

The blame for this lies, without a doubt, with slavery, which gave the ancient world everything convenient for exploitation. labor what he needed. Thus, in the East, the horizontal water mill will remain rudimentary, adapted solely for the needs of grinding grain, a difficult and everyday task, and steam will serve only as a kind of ingenious toys, because, as one historian of technology writes, “the need for [energy] power , superior to those of its types that were then known, was not felt.” And this means that Hellenistic society remained indifferent to the exploits of the “engineers”.

But isn't the Roman conquest, which soon followed these inventions, also responsible? The Hellenistic economy and society had been open to the world for several centuries. Rome, on the contrary, closed itself within the Mediterranean and, having destroyed Carthage, enslaved Greece, Egypt and the East, three times closed its exits to the wider world. Would things have been different if Antony and Cleopatra had won victory at Actium in 31 BC? In other words, isn't the industrial revolution possible only in the heart of an open world-economy?

[About the relationship between total and average per capita income]

Before this transformation, traditional growth occurred intermittently, as a series of ups and downs, or even downturns, over the centuries. There are very long phases: 1100-1350, 1350-1450, 1450-1520, 1520-1720, 1720-1817. These phases contradicted each other: during the first, the population grew, in the second it fell sharply, grew again in the third, stagnated in the fourth, and began to grow rapidly in the last of them.

Whenever the population grew, there was an increase in production and national income - as if to justify the old adage "Wealth lies only in people." But each time, per capita income fell or even slid down, while during stagnant phases it improved. This is exactly what the long curve calculated on seven centuries of material by Phelps Brown and Sheila Hopkins shows. Thus, there was a discrepancy between national income and per capita income: the growth of the national product occurred to the detriment of those who worked, this was the law of the Old Order. And I will assume, contrary to what has been said and repeated, that the beginnings of the English industrial revolution were supported by growth still belonging to the Old Order. Until 1815, or rather until 1850 (some would say until 1870), there was no constant growth.

Since the middle of the 19th century, which broke the specific rhythm of growth under the old order, we seem to be entering another era: the secular trend is a tendency towards a simultaneous rise in population, prices, GNP, wages, interrupted only by the accidents of short-term cycles, as if “constant growth” was promised to us forever.

Regarding the Second Age and the Industrial Revolution, I recommend “Material Civilization, Economy and Capitalism” by Fernand Braudel.