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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.

UNIT 2 SUMMARY

 

Throughout the class, we have discussed various forms of culture in the course of art history. It ranges from artworks in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia to artwork in Ancient Greece and Rome. Each era provided their society with a certain influence . For example, Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia had a society filled with a god worshiping civilization, meanwhile, Ancient Greece and Rome had more of an interest towards the incorporation of humanism in their artwork.

The first difference between these art periods of the Ancient World, Egyptian art, as aforementioned, was primly concerned with the worship to an almost cult-like extent of gods or kings. This is because the ancient Egyptian society, and was thus related within the artwork of the ancient Egyptians. For example, the god of the afterlife within ancient Egyptian society.  Furthermore, Ancient Egyptians preferred an  straight look to their artworks, unlike the ancient Greeks and Romans. Therefore,it is easy to see as to why Ancient Egyptian artistic had its differences from other ancient world artworks.

On the ancient Greek and Roman it mostly focus on humanism within the artworks of these two sides of the Art of the Ancient World. Humanism was the idea of the physical and spiritual world. All of their art work in the Ancient Roman are all being part of the real-life beings. It does mot matter of how they look, gender, or any other characteristic that describe about them.  The only difference is how they dress up in style and using other material.  As of today we still use art in many different ways in historically or modernly.

 

Unit 2 Summary

Ancient cultures created many works of art over many centuries. Many ancient civilizations used art to illustrate their religions and cultures. By observing their Art we can see how these civilizations lived, who they respected, and the ideals on which their societies are built. All of these important facts, of ancient civilizations, can be seen through many mediums for example: paintings, sculptures, and palettes. Some of the ancient civilizations that I looked at were: Egyptian, Greek, and Roman. Each of these civilizations has their own unique flair in which they depicted their societal values through their art.

 

The first civilization that we will look at is Egyptian. Egyptian art, shows that their primary focus is on the afterlife and on divine and royal beings. Egypt’s art showcases the worship and praise of the Egyptian gods and kings. This idea can be seen from the work, The Palette of Narmer, which was produced in 3000 BCE. In this work, King Narmer is carved unproportionally large as compared to the other figures in the piece. This fact makes the king almost larger than life. Furthermore, King Narmer is adorned with a large spectacular crown and with a large Sceptre in his hand. To complete his god like depiction he is made to be standing with a royal posture. All these elements make him look truly powerful and godlike. We can see from here how in  Egyptian culture the subjects see their kings and queens as gods. Egyptian art allows us to see into Egyptian society and how they built their society on the fact that their royalty is like gods. Other forms of Egyptian art, pyramids, mummies, and death masks to name a few. These art pieces portray the Egyptian society’s obsession with the afterlife. One of the myriad of reasons as to why many pyramids were built was to be a burial place for the Egyptian elites, their gods, their pharaohs and queens. Once again we see how much effort was put into these art pieces so that their gods can be comfortable because of how much they worship their gods. Another interesting tidbit is that much of the surviving Egyptian art comes from inside the tombs and monuments of Egyptian royalty which illustrates Egyptian emphasis on life after death and the preservation of knowledge of the past.

However, when looking at Greek and Roman art we see many similarities. Greek and Roman societies had very different values from those of Egyptian societies and therefore their art is on a different spectrum than Egyptian art. Greek/Roman art focuses on human figures and humanity as a species, this is called, humanism. In other words humanism centers around mankind, rather than gods. This is what separates Egyptian and Greek and Roman art. This can be illustrated by looking at Greek and Roman art. In one of their artforms, sculptures, we see many human figures. Greek humanism portrays the natural world around us. As Austin Cline says  “it placed human beings at the center of moral and social concerns ” (“Humanism in Ancient Greece”).  This is very different from the ancient Egyptian world, where the art we are looking at is usually different paintings or sculptures of gods and leaders. Rather, This art puts humans in the center, not a spiritual presence. We see this by the many human-like sculptures that were made in the Greek and Roman civilizations. To further the humanist aspect, Greek and Roman art made sculptures look as if they are ‘moving.’ This is a major difference from Egypt’s stillness and stiffness in their sculptures. The movement in the pieces makes the figure seem alive. Another point in their sculptures that made them more realistic was their bodies. The front of the piece shows indents and curves of the stomach, legs, and arms (if there were arms). Greek and Roman cultures are seen in the faces of the sculpture as well as the curly short hair that frames the face. Overall, we see the major difference in ancient cultures by their art pieces.

Although we usually clump Roman and Greek culture together they still have many differences in culture and religion which is seen in their handiwork- specifically in their temples. Greek temples are typically very large. This is so they keep their godly figures and perform rituals inside the temple. Sculptures were usually painted (i.e. like skin tone colored or lipsticked). This differs from Roman culture where the temples were small and rituals were done in front not inside. This is one of the ways in which Roman and Greek art which are usually bunched together in their artwork differ based on religion and culture.

In Summation, we see major differences in ancient art based on what the society believed was important. Egypt put importance in gods and leaders while Greek/Roman went to a more humanistic approach. This, therefore, shows us difference in culture between Egypt and Greek/Rome. Contrastingly, Greek and Roman showed many similarities of commonalities between cultures based on how they portrayed individuals as a symbol of power for the rest of civilization.