Humanities-Visual Arts of Africa and its influence on European Culture

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African Art

From Egypt to South Africa the art of Africa is rich and diverse on a scale second to no other continent . The art is a cultural heritage that has sustained a race of people over millennia . This will focus on the art of the 200-year span of 1400-1600 CE . It was during this time period that the European Renaissance flowered , and saw such masters as Michelangelo , Leonardo , and Raphael arise . It likewise covers the time period that Rembrandt and the Dutch

masters worked . Comparisons will be made between the two disparate cultures , examining the differences between how the art of Africa and the art of Europe relate to their culture and mores . It will examine the utility of both art genres

While the art appears to be radically different , the underlying usage for the art produced is essentially the same , with Renaissance art and African art both serving their culture 's religious beliefs and mores

For those not accustomed to abstract art it can appear to be different from what they even consider art . A large portion of all African art is abstract . Abstraction is the way the artist chooses to create a representation of the ancestor or the spirit with whom he wishes to communicate . By tradition the art is religious or mythical , so their option was to make a representative figure . Abstraction is the way to create such . European art of the same era solved this problem by opting to create a realistic likeness of their saints and even their god Europeans did not paint landscapes or sculpt animals except to give a setting to their holy families and saints . Art was for religion and for custom , culture , and mores in both cultures . The beauty of African art lies not only on the surface or physical features of the artwork but the meaning or lesson that it tends to emanate (All-About-African-Art .com par . 3

African art of the period under discussion is virtually always three dimensional and not only of wood . The Yoruba discovered lost-wax and cast their statues in metals by the 14th and 15th century (Mullen par .10 . John Reader , writing in Africa : A Biography of the Continent discusses the use of metals in the art of the African tribes . In Sub-Saharan Africa iron and copper were the most highly valued of metals . Interestingly , he reports that the 14th century tribes would exchange their gold for copper at a rate of two-thirds gold to one of copper (287 . This iron and copper went into weapons , naturally but much of it found its way into art because of its permanence was associated with the longevity of ancestors as well as the immortality of the spirits . It became then a part of their art , which is synonymous with their religious beliefs and culture

The most noticeable thing about African art is its ubiquitous nature . It permeates the lives of the African people more so than European art . The emphasis...