Blog Post: Unit 2 Summary

The past few months we have examined different art works and their relevant history in Ancient civilization such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greek, and Roman. All of these civilizations had many things in common, but also many differences.

For example, both Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egyptian art shared the value of Gods. The Gods were the main focus of art for these civilizations, but were expressed in different ways and had visible physical differences. In Ancient Mesopotamia, the Gods were worshipped extensively as a way to avoid bad fortune. This civilization believed that if bad things were to happen to the community, for example bad crops, then this was because they were not pleasing the Gods enough. Statuettes were made, such as the Standing Male Worshipper, as a way to show the Gods that even though they were working or doing other everyday activities, they were still worshipping and praying to the Gods. When looking at this statue, some “identifiers” of Mesopotamian art are big eyes, long hair organized in a uniform manner, and hands folded in prayer. In Ancient Egypt, the Gods were worshipped as well and played a huge part in the civilizations narrative, but we begin to see more sculptures and artwork regarding Pharaohs, who were considered to be the mediators between the Gods and the people. When looking at Ancient Egyptian art, specifically Menakure and Queen we begin to see some differences. For example, although the similarity is that both sculptures are clothed, one important thing to note is the fact that the Pharaohs feet do not touch the ground, this was to signify that he was above the people and closer to the Gods in social class. This sculpture is also more polished.

Moving on to Greek and Roman art, there are many similarities that arise then there is a shift to new differences as new eras arise. During Greek and Roman Art, there began to be a new emphasis on Humanism, which is focusing and emphasizing on the human as the main object of the world instead of the Gods. In addition to that, Humanism focuses on the human beliefs, values, and individuality. Humanism can be seen in Discobolus, in which the physical human body is clearly emphasized. In strong contrast to the previous artworks that were mentioned, this sculpture portrays the naked human body. The Greeks saw the human body as something to take pride in and to value, and instead of using headpieces and other things to signify power, they allowed the human body to signify power and strength. Lastly, we delved in to the history of the Roman Republic which once again showed a change in the expression of artwork. The Roman Republic still fixated on humanism, but now emphasized verism which means truth-telling. Verism was used to show the Roman Republic’s value of age, wisdom, and real human emotion/personality traits. For example, looking at this sculpture, we see that this man does not have a polished face to show youth, which can be seen in previous Greek and Roman art, instead we see effort to make the man’s face have very noticeable wrinkles. The Roman’s wanted to display age because it was now deeply valued and age meant that someone had a lot of wisdom to give. In this sculpture, we also see emotion, but not dramatic emotion. In this era emotions displayed in the artworks were more realistic and in-tune with a person’s own personality traits. In this sculpture, we could simply say that man just seems ill-tempered or grumpy.

Summary of Unit 2

In unit 2 of this semester, we learned about art in ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Greece, Egypt, & Rome. Each of these places depicted either gods as the central figure or humans (human body). Specifically, Greek & Roman art had an emphasis on humans, whereas, the focal point of Ancient Egyptian & Mesopotamian art were gods & goddesses. One main commonality between all these is that each of the art pieces gives us an idea of what the civilizations were like during that era. It lets us know what was important and honored in that time. There was gradual change toward humanism. There was more detail of human characteristics were placed on the sculptures. Typically, these sculptures were sculptures of nude men to shed light on the beauty of the human body. An emphasis is put on the human body by the different poses and facial expressions seen on the sculptures.

Ancient Greek art had a major influence on Roman art. For example, the art piece known as Doryphoros (spear bearer) is a copy by the Romans of the original made by a Greek sculptor, Polykleitos. This art piece, as seen in the image below, portrays a nude man standing in a cocky pose with his arm raised and one foot in the back. His body is built, muscular with broad shoulders and a six pack. The Romans made small changes and added touches of humor to the original Greek art pieces, where they had a more of a somber element in their artwork.

In the Republican period of Rome, art was depicted by showing the facial expressions that convey emotion and personality of the patrons and their service. This is unlike in the first art piece where the man didn’t have much of a facial expression because the human body was the central focus of the sculpture. This art piece, which is from the mid 1st century that shows a marble bust of a man with a wrinkly forehead, bald head, large nose, an angry looking face with his eyebrows facing down, depicted in the image below. This art piece demonstrated the hard work put into the republic as service or as a leader of the community.

As mentioned earlier, the main focus in Ancient Egyptian & Mesopotamian art were the gods. In Ancient Egyptian art, the gods weren’t even depicted as humans, but animals. Well, not only animals, such as in Anubis. In Anubis (image on the right), as seen in the image below, the art piece shows a human body with an animal head, specifically a jackal. In the artwork showing the Ammit, which means “devourer of the dead” (image on the left), the body was consists of 3 animals, which include a lion, hippopotamus, and crocodile. These three animals were known in Ancient Egypt as “man-eating” animals. These artworks were meant to honor and respect the gods. These two artworks show that the gods were important and superior to humans during that time. They were depicted in a special way with animalistic features to represent dominance. In the art pieces that represented humanism, humans were important over supernatural and divine.

Humanism

Humanism is a cultural and intellectual movement of the Renaissance that emphasized human potential to attain excellence and promoted direct study of the literature, art, and civilization of classical Greece and Rome.

Marble bust of a man

Greek humanism is the beauty of the human form and essence. It puts the human experience at the center of events. In this statue of the Doryphoros is shows an adult male body with a muscular somewhat bulky body with a blocked shaped torso. The positioning of his feet are in a stance where one leg takes all the weight of the body and the other is merely a support. In this position he is standing in a relaxed state in which he can look around him easily without breaking form. On the other hand Kouros is a teenager or young adult standing in a symmetrical pose. He has a defined body which seems more realistic than Doryphoros and  a calm posture.

In Roman humanism statues were more symbolic and focused on singular characteristics likes the face or body. In the Marble bust of a man sculpture it shows an elder aged man with a serious look on his face. Usually in Roman sculptures they depict signs of aging and reflecting on the character of the individual where as in Greek sculpture it shows the youth and strength.

Unit 2 Summary

Art of the ancient world has revealed a wide spectrum of different cultures and lifestyles. In ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, art takes a form of worshipping gods and kings. This shows the distinct class divisions which we can see in many arts from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. In contrast, ancient Greek and Roman art puts an emphasis on humanism and epistemology or the study of thought and ideas. Ancient Greek and Roman art introduces an epistemological shift where we can see the value in humans and the human form. The experience of Greek and Rome is represented through the human body. Although different art from different time periods have many contrasting aspects, they also share many similarities as well.

Starting off Unit 2, we are introduced to a Geometric Krater found at the Dipylon cemetery in Athens. Although the krater was used mainly for funerary purposes, we can see many similarities to other arts of the ancient world such as the Standard of Ur. Similar to the Standard of Ur, the Geometric Krater uses horizontal bands or registers with each register representing different concepts. The style of dividing a piece into registers is very common in art of the ancient world. Fast forward to ancient Greek sculptures, we are introduced to the free standing sculpture of Kouros. The Kouros is very similar to the statue of King Menkaure and Queen of Ancient Egypt. The Kouros is positioned exactly like King Menakaure with an emphasis on verticality. Both pieces seem to express a very stiff position, one that humans would most likely not be accustomed to. Although they are positioned very similarly, the Kouros is completely nude whereas King Menakaure is clothed with a headpiece and traditional Egyptian skirt called a shendyt. This difference shows that Ancient Greeks, unlike Egyptians, showed a cultural pride in nudity which touches back on the idea of humanism and appreciation for the human form. Aside from sculptures, art in the ancient world can also be seen through temples such as the Parthenon. Greek temples such as the Parthenon were very large unlike Roman temples. The Greeks carried out rituals and worshipping which took place inside these large temples. Romans on the other hand, held rituals outside their temples meaning their temples did not need to be large in size. The Roman Villa of Publius uses a linear perspective making an illusion of space drawing the audience’s eyes towards the temple itself. Unlike the Villa of Publius, Greek temples show similarities to large structures such as Egyptian pyramids. Similar to Greek rituals being held inside the temples, Egyptian pyramids were used as tombs for pharaohs and queens. These large structures emphasized the importance of the rituals and worshipping of higher power.

Art in the ancient world share many similarities and differences. Through these different time periods, we are able to see the influence of a culture’s art on another as well as the differences they may share.

Art 1010 Unit II Summary

The art of the ancient world, such as Ancient Greece, Egypt, Rome, and Mesopotamia, share similar and vastly different aspects in terms of culture, religion, economy, and political beliefs. Each ancient civilization depicted their artwork in a unique type of way that distinguished their social aspects/culture and religion differently from other civilizations. Through formal analyses of each artwork from the different civilizations I previously mentioned, we can learn about the religious beliefs and in general, the atmosphere of the society at the time. In this summary, I will be comparing artwork from ancient Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, and Egypt.

First, ancient Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, and Egypt did not share the exact time periods but they all share similar characteristics in their art works. Mesopotamia is recorded to be the first ancient civilization, then Egypt, then Greece/Rome in terms of time. A vast majority of Egyptian culture, hierarchy, and religion is borrowed from the ancient Mesopotamians. For example, most of their artworks portray religious figures/divine beings and concepts such as the underworld/afterlife and God/king/pharaoh. Also, both ancient civilizations built special temples for their divine rulers and Gods. A specific example that depicts this religious aspect on ancient Egypt is the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony Painting. In the ceremony, Anubis, a powerful figure for this process, weighed the heart of the passerby and the feather of Ma’at. This drawing also depicts several other divine figures and creatures such as a croco-hippo-leopard creature, Ammut, who devours the impure hearts, Osiris, God of the underworld, a jackal-headed figure, Anubis, and others. This drawing shows how important the afterlife process/religion was to the ancient Egyptians. Also, The Palette of Narmer depicts the importance and devotion towards divine leaders (pharaohs). King Narmer is depicted much larger than the nearby figures of animals which qualitatively makes him physically more powerful and God-like. Similarly, in The Standard of Ur, from ancient Mesopotamia, there are several workers and one ruler who is physically larger than the others. The devotion towards size of the divine rule emphasizes the importance of these kings and Pharaohs of their respective ancient societies/hierarchies, hence why specialized temples (ziggurats in Mesopotamia and pyramids in ancient Egypt) were built to preserve the bodies of their kings.

When transitioning into the Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, we see a vast majority of differences in terms of style of art, culture, economy, and religion from Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. However, ancient Greek and Roman art share a plethora of similarities in terms of style. One of the many differences that distinguishes Ancient Greek art and ancient Egypt/Mesopotamia is the style/approach of art. The ancient Greeks based their artwork on a humanistic approach, which Humanism in Ancient Greece states that every thing in the universe revolves and focuses on mankind rather than Gods and Goddesses. This is the opposite approach followed in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia; they heavily focused their artwork on religion. One prominent example of humanism in Ancient Greek art is the Doryphoros by Polykleitos. We see a very realistic/life-like sculpture of a ripped man. This is also different from the very still figures such as the figure of Kouros in ancient Mesopotamia. Furthermore, both Ancient Greek and Roman sculptures depicted very realistic and life-like figures of males and females who were naked. This was frowned upon in ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations and regarded nudity as an embarrassment. The Greeks and Romans had no problem sexualizing males and females.

These three ancient civilizations share a lot of differences and similarities in their artworks. These differences and similarities can help art historians analyze the religious, cultures, and economical aspects of each ancient society.

 

 

Brooklyn Museum

Female Figurine. Egypt, from Ma’mariya. Predynastic Period, Naqada II, circa 3500–3400 B.C.E. Terracotta, painted, 111⁄2 x 51⁄2 x 21⁄4 in. (29.2 × 14 × 5.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 07.447.505

From the Brooklyn Museum I chose Bird Lady figurine from the Predynastic Period 3500-3400 BC. This pottery was made during the Badarian period (4400-3800 BC) and was named after the village of Badari where it was first found. My first impressions were the subtle details that stood out. First, the shape of the body and arms are curvy which gives off the portrait of a feminine body. Her hands are in the air giving a peaceful vibe as if she was dancing or celebrating in joy. In deeper look, her face and arms resemble the beak and wings of a bird along with her legs which aren’t there as it was a tail. There can also be another meaning since she is so bird like it can resemble freedom or flying. Back in Ancient Egypt women didn’t have many rights. This figurine can represent what women wanted to achieve or feel like because their was a hierarchy where women had to listen to obey men.

The Bird Lady has body parts of both a woman and bird. Another aspect I saw was the two toned color. The top part of the woman has a copper like color which could be made up of clay where the bottom has a sandstone color which makes it look like a rock. The bottom half of the figurine can also resemble a dress or skirt. What shocked me the most was the nudity shown on the upper body because I wouldn’t expect ancient Egypt to include it in art.

Image result for Did The Bear Sit Under a Tree

When I browsed around the Soul Of The Nation exhibit, I stumbled upon this painting that caught my attention. This artwork, Did The Bear Sit Under a Tree, by Benny Andrews spoke to me with such intensity. The first thing I noticed was the sloppiness in the execution. I saw that there were multiple colors on the flag and man. For example, the stripes are red and orange and the stars have a light and dark blue background. Also, the entirety of the flag is filled with flaws such as imperfect sizes of the stars followed up with cracks in the stripes. The flag also seems to be rolled up away from the man as if he is fighting for something against what the flag represents.

The colored man’s facial expression shows confusion or an undecided look along with anger. His hand gesture clearly shows he is ready to fight or resist against the flag. Meanwhile, his face expresses uncertainty and indecisiveness whether or not to carry out the action. Regardless, the flag is rolled up covering about a third of the portrait as the man  is pushing it away from him. The caption for the painting is a representation of a colored man during the civil rights movement with a shaking fist at the flag which was supposed to protect him. The painter portrays a sense of betrayal and anger in the man because of his unhappiness of how the United States treats colored people.

 

Unit 2 Summary

Throughout this term we have learned the major differences between Ancient Greek, Ancient Egyptian and Ancient Roman artwork. The different strategies and the time periods of all forms of art have greatly impacted the display of the artwork. Although all three portray statues the way that these statues are articulated have created a line of differentiation amongst the two. All three, Ancient Egyptian, Ancient Roman and Ancient Greek artwork symbolize the different roles played in society during the coinciding time periods. In museums and pictures the statues display character and a certain poise while the three illustrate different aspects of the given time frames and the different societies. Although the three forms of art hold similarities, they differ in many ways.

Ancient Greek artwork is significant in articulating human like statues. They used human forms to display god like statues and display the traits of a dominating human. In Ancient Greek statues the representation of a man is shown to being strong, while displaying a feminine touch.

Ancient Roman artwork is significant for displaying different forms of art using marble, stone, glass, metal, etc. The main art forms that were projected were, sculptures, mosaics, paintings and architecture. Ancient Roman artwork is shown in many public areas such as parks, museums, buildings, etc.

Ancient Egyptian artwork is significant in portraying the image of gods. Ancient Egyptian artwork was surrounded by religion and the afterlife. They would fill tombs of Pharaohs with scriptures and paintings for their afterlife. The sculptures created during this time period mainly displayed the image of Pharaohs who were considered gods during that time period. The sculptures created by Ancient Egyptians were made of ivory, basalt, wood, gold and lime stone. The pyramids made during that time period were essentially supposed to the people who died and allow them to get a peaceful afterlife. Most Egyptian artwork displayed sculptures with no emotions and were largely proportioned.

Although these time periods have presented various forms of art, their artwork displays numerous similarities. They all display human like figures and are all presented in sculptures. The eyes, nose and certain physical features amongst all three: Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman and Ancient Egyptian art show distinctive traits as a human being. All three artworks display a dominant structure that essentially displays power and a higher or stronger being.

The differences amongst all three artworks are clearly shown through the different sculptures. Ancient Egyptian artwork revolves around the representation of god or a high power. Which was displayed through Pharaohs. Ancient Roman artwork revolved around the illustration of sculptures that were presented in different materials such as bronze, marble, glass, metal and stone. Ancient Greek sculptures show a dominant male who has feminine characteristics and is shown having a muscular image. Ancient Greek sculptures relate to how a human being looks, they show a feminine side by allowing the sculptures to show a slight slouch or a soft knee bend, etc.

ART Unit 2 : Summary

           In Unit 2 we discussed the art of Ancient Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greek, and Rome.  We looked at many artworks and compared different cultures and civilizations art. For instance, most Greek figures were influenced by animals and were occasionally created using different animal body parts. The Egyptians were further involved in creating countless monumental sculptures of their pharaohs and queens. Other than limestone the Egyptians also used painted wood and sandstone and later used gold and bronze to strengthen their sculptures, while Greeks would use marble and bronze. The difference in religious beliefs between the two time periods is the major difference because Egyptians had a very solid belief in the after-life and helping their dead find a better life after death whereas the Greeks lacked such belief. Ancient Greece borrowed various of their concepts from the Egyptians and Mesopotamians to improve their individual and independent artistic identity through painting, sculpture, and architecture. Though the Romans got many ideas from the Greeks, their art was more complex and defined. The Romans were a practical people, in their original works, the observation was key. One of significant difference between the two cultures is their approach towards art. The Greek was more philosophical and idealistic, while the Romans were more realistic and somehow extravagant in their approach to sculpture.

 

Examples:

The Narmer Palette is one of the most famous artworks of Ancient Egypt. The palette, which has a shield-shape, is decorated on both sides. Each side of the palette Narmer’s name is inscribed within a serekh flanked by two cows heads with the faces of human females which face forward. The top of the palette is garnished with what looks to be the illustration of the two-horned beast. Place on the very top or the Palette on the left and right top, this is also repeated on the back as well as the front. This creates a balance and symmetrical design. In the center of the two horned creatures is the emblem of Narmer’s name symbolically illustrated in a form of a serekh, adding to the symmetry. The Narmer Palette shows slight alterations of style from other works of art from that era. Within the carving itself, Narmer is illustrated, and positioned in an uncharacteristically, by strategically being placed in the center of the image, while illustrated to be larger, when compared to the rest of the composition, and illustrated figures.

Marble bust of a man is a roman artwork,  this bust is among the style of veristic portraits, because of their seemingly harsh and severe realism, which was emphasized above heroism or beauty. Because the Romans considered facial features to be the best conveyors of personality, age, and wisdom gained through long, hard years of life, these characteristics and features were emphasized in portraiture in order to portray the qualities they valued most highly.

Kuros is a Greek statue displaying a young standing male. It shows a great degree of naturalism, soft human form. The figure is nude, which in Greek art appreciatively represents the body. The scripture displays a standing figure, facing straight forward, and standing with its weight equally distributed on its two legs; avoids any twisting, turning, or bending. The repetition of shapes produces a decorative pattern, which is continued in details, such as in the curves of the eyebrow and eyelid, the shapes at the kneecaps, and at the elbows, to make it resemble the natural human figure.

 

SN: Unit 2 Summary

Ancient art refers to art produced by advanced ancient societies cultures such as Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Each ancient cultures have their own specific art that reflects their society.

Ancient Greek art emphasized the accomplishments and importance of human beings and were made to honor their gods that took human form in sculptures. Much of Ancient Greek art was made of stone or wood and were freestanding. The earliest statues were called kouros where the human stood straight in the sculptures but overtime, they took a more natural and relaxed pose. This new pose consisted of knees bent a little, head relaxed, hips thrust on only one side.

Ancient Roman art included architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work and was born from Greek Art. Roman sculptures were of statues, reliefs and sarcophagi arts. Many of these could be seen in daily life such as in public buildings, parks and gardens. Roman emperors had statues made of their honor around cities to remember the cities victories. Romans worked with stone, glass, metals, terracotta, bronze and marble to create their artworks.

Ancient Egypt art did not change much over time when the civilization ruled the Nile for 3000 years. Their art focused on religion where they filled tombs of Pharaohs with sculptures and paintings for their afterlife as well as temples, but there they put statues of gods and paintings as well there. They are famous for their big Great Sphinx of Giza sculpture, but they also carved smaller sculptures using limestone, basalt, ivory, wood and gold. In the tombs, the paintings represented the pharaohs that passed away and were of happy paintings. They carved reliefs into walls and their art considered pharaohs as their gods. In addition, their pyramids were made to protect those who died for a peaceful afterlife.

Similarities: All three ancient cultures art was meant to honor. Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans honored gods as Ancient Egyptians honored their Pharaohs. Roman sculptures dervived from Greek sculptures and some were even copies. Other sculptures included philosophers, goddesses and successful generals. Both Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman art focused on humanisn, an emphasize on human experiences both psychological and moral and on physical beauty for Greek sculptures.

Differences: Ancient Egyptian art did not focus on humanism, but instead focused on tributes and afterlife. Ancient Greek sculptures were based on original ideas as Roman sculptures were a copy. Romans statues were made up of brightly painted marble as Greeks mostly used Bronze. Ancient Roman statues also focused more on realism as Ancient Greek art focused on idealism. ­­­Ancient Roman art showed more civic pride and were of people who achieved a lot in Rome. In addition, Egyptian art, unlike the other two, focused on symmetry and more on religion as the Greeks focused on philosophy. Egyptian architecture used ornamental stones, adapted styles of painting and their statues were largely proportioned including plump faces and big heads that showed no emotions.

Unit 2 Summary

    When the art in Mesopotamian, Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman art are looked at together, you can identify the change from art depicting worship of Gods to art depicting the high potential of human beings, to verism. There is also evidence of each of these civilizations influencing one another showing the slow change towards humanism.

    Let’s start with Mesopotamia. There are one example of art depicting worship is the Statue of Gudea in 2150 BCE in Neo-Sumeria. It is a small stone figure built in such a way that it is built to be durable and last. It is the depiction of a ruler sitting down, praying to a God. Its eye wide open and arms clamped together show a devoted worshipper.

    The next example is is an art piece from Ancient Egypt. This was still a time of God worship, but large statues of rulers like the Pharaoh are pretty common.  These rulers were considered the link between their people and the Gods. They were in a sense worshiped like Gods themselves. Menkaure and Queen from 2490-2472 BCE is the Pharaoh and the Queen standing next to each other. It is also blocky like the Statue of Gudea but human sized. It is built to last and it’s reflected by the platform and the block it is connected to their backs.

    In Greek art, the first statue showing signs of Greek humanism is Kouros from 600 BCE. Greek humanism is to desire explanation for events in the nature world and to open up new possibilities for speculation. It mainly valued humanity and placed human experience as the center of events.

This is reflected in the statue because it is clearly the depiction of a standing man. But it still is not a naturalized human form. It is the idealized man with sense of perfection. It is not recognizable as a specific person. And it still has similarities to Mesopotamia and Egypt. Like the two pieces I mentioned, it is built to last and be durable. It is in a stiff standing pose that gives the stone strength, when you look at it closely the statue is very blocky that strengthens the stone even more.

A statue that represents humanism is the Roman copy of Polykleitos, Doryphoros from 450-440 BCE. This would have been made of bronze. I had a very natural standing pose, the detail of the statue isn’t blocky, it has a fleshy quality. It is still trying to show the idealized man in a humanistic way.

Lastly, there is Roman art. Their art was not the depiction of an idealized man. It was the depiction of a man in the truest sense, this is called Roman Portraiture. The example of this is a portrait bust of a man in 1st century B.C. This bust is clearly an old man with his wrinkles in full view. This because Roman portraiture features a accurate portrayal of a person’s’ face, a value in old age because it reflects wisdom, and that looking as you are is completely fine and not shameful at all.