Tag: Art Final

Themed Museum Tour – Final Project.

Good morning Ladies & Gentleman, I am Naomi and I will be your tour guide for today. If you are apart of this tour today it is because you have taken a special interest in emotions depicted in different forms of art. Throughout history, forms of art have successfully represented emotions and stories in different ways. We see emotions and stories further deepened in details like body language, facial expressions and symbolism. The MET is filled with so much history and beauty. I hope you all enjoy and appreciate the pieces I have selected for you. This tour will be about thirty to forty-five minutes long with an included bathroom break. The MET is a huge building, and it can also be crowded, be sure to stay close to not miss a thing. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

For our first artwork, I want to introduce you to Giuseppe Gricci‘s, The Mourning Virgin and Saint John The Evangelist. This beauty is made of soft-paste porcelain and was made in Naples, Italy in 1744. They’re very small so I want you all to get close to closely see it. As you can tell from the name of this piece, this depicts the Virgin Mary after the death of her son, Christ, and Saint John right next to her. The way Giuseppe portrayed them in their mourning is just impressive and it’s almost like the material that they were made out of captures the mourning even better. We should first focus on the Virgin Mary’s face. Her head is tilted up with her mouth open and her eyes. Then, we also see her body language, she is then propped up on one knee as if her grief has taken over her. When we look over at Saint John, his body is turned away from the Virgin but his head is facing her. Almost as if he is in shock at what had happened and also feels shame. The drapery that is shown almost makes it look like as if they are in movement. The white porcelain makes them look so fragile from their grief. From the emotion on their face to the material that they are done out of, Giuseppe successfully shows the aftermath of Christ’s death that is filled with horror and sorrow from the ones who followed him. In this case, Giuseppe used his material to emphasize the pain St. John and the Virgin Mary felt. This is a perfect first demonstration of emotion and the emotion of a story being shown in art. The sadness is already apparent before you even know any context behind it, and that ladies and gentlemen is very powerful in itself.

This next masterpiece, is called “Ugolino and His Sons” created by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux. It is made of Saint-beat Marble and was made in 1865-67, Paris. The name of this artwork is not as revealing as the first work of art that we looked at, so I want you analyze this statue deeply and try your best to look at every single detail. It is very obvious that the man in the front, Ugolino, is in extreme anguish. You can see his knotted body and the way he has his fingers in his mouth. On top of his anguish, it’s almost as if he is indecisive about something. If you focus on the kids around him, his sons, they all are around him either laying on him, hiding in his body, or clinging to him. We see three of them either asleep or maybe even dead and the one who seems to be the older one is the only one looking up at him in some sort of desperation. We see that they are suffering and it comes across very loud and clear. The story behind this statue comes from the epic poem, Dante’s Inferno.Dante encounters Ugolino and his sons locked in a tower after Count Ugolino betrayed his city, Pisa, by giving away fortresses to other towns. When locked away, his sons were complaining about being hungry. When mealtime came, he noticed the door was being nailed. That is when he realized that he would starve in that tower with his sons and other sinners. Driven insane from starvation and seeing his sons slowly die, Count Ugolino was faced with no other choice but to become a cannibal. In some stories, it is said he ate the bodies of his sons and in others it is said he continued to starve. I chose this to be apart of the tour because it is a piece of art that only intensifies the emotions you feel after you hear the story. You experience their emotions before knowing anything about it and pick up on their horror. You notice their facial expressions and their body language but do not know why. Once you find out, you can’t help but feel even more horrified. Carpeaux is just another artist that has managed to envelop you before and after you hear about his inspiration.

 

The last statue we will be looking at today is called “The Martyr.“This bronze piece was made by Auguste Rodin in 1898, France. This is another work of art that’s name really gives away the story behind it. However, I want you all to look at her body language and forget about her facial expression. Her body language really gives away her suffering. Whenever we see an artwork of death, we typically see them lied down flat, but here we have something different. We see her arms spread wide, her legs are at a weird angle, and her is almost hanging off the altar she is put on. We can safely conclude that she suffered a great deal of pain before her death. A martyr is someone who is killed for their religious believes and the deaths of the Apostles serve as a testimony that these deaths are very morbid and gruesome. Rodins, “The Martyr” shows that she comes a “symbolic martyr to humanity‘s shard fate. Her youth evokes death‘s universality, her nakedness its indifference, and her isolation the loneliness of the final struggle.“This artwork can compare to Carpeaux‘s “Ugolino and his Sons” because of the decision to express emotion through body language. We hear her tragic ending being told by the way she is positioned on this alter. Although her face does give off a lot of emotion, her body is the statement. The title of this work, her body language, and her bodies symbolism all come into one to tell her tragic tale. 

This painting is called “The Penitent Magdalen.” This oil on canvas was made by George de La Tour in 1593-1633, France. Mary Magdalene is known for being the personification of christian fidelity. It is said that Mary Magdalene was a Jewish women who followed Jesus to the death. When Jesus was set to die on the cross and his men abandoned him, Magdalene stayed by his side. She is said to be around him at his tomb and to be the first to announce his resurrection. As you can see, this is the first work of art that does not show a face. Her head is turned away, and we are left to only work with her body and the objects around her. We see a skull on her lap, her hands crossed, a mirror and a candlelight. It is said that Mary Magdalen “renounced the pleasures of the flesh for a life of penance and contemplation.“The mirror is a symbol of”vanity“, the skull on her lap is an “emblem of mortality“, and the candle light most likely stands for her “spiritual enlightenment.” If we moved on to focus on the colors of this painting, the only thing that is lighted from the candle light is the top of her robe. The rest of the painting is filled with shadows and dark colors. We look at this painting and keeping all in the information in mind, we pick up that this an hour of solemnity. This is contrasts from all the statue work we have seen today, but still falls in line, because although we don’t see a face, we are still giving enough objects to grasp the emotion of this painting. Her hands, the skull, the mirror, and the candlelight are enough to give us what we need to understand the sentiment of this painting. 

For the last artwork of this tour, This painting is called “The Rape of Tamar.“This oil on canvas was made by Eusatche Le Seur in 1614. This graphic scene tells the story of Tamar being raped by her half-brother Amnon. In the bible, II Samuel 13:1-22, Amnon was a son of David and fell inlove with Tamar. He convinced his friend to help set up a plan which consisted of Amnon faking a sickness and ordering that Tamar attend to him. When they were alone, he turned on her and raped her. After realizing what he had done, he sent her out of his chamber.When Tamar‘s brother, Absalom, realized what had happened, he had Amnon killed. Of course, the face of Tamar and Amnon really gives away the horror and chaos of the scene, but I want you to focus on what is going on in the rest of the painting. From behind them, we see a figure walking away, which we can guess is the friend. He could depict the betrayal that happened here. On the floor, we see objects fallen over. Notice also the movement that is in this picture. The robes of the man in the back are behind him. The white drape of Amnon is also all behind him, only covering his privates, the top of Tamar‘s dress has the same type of movement. Her hair is also in mid-air. Le Seur literally paints this scene in mid-moment right before the rape happens. By doing this, Le Seur accurately shows the chaos of this scene, and he does it in more than one way. He uses all of his canvas to his advantage to set this violent act in motion. The little things do matter in this painting. In taking in all of these things, we feel for Tamar because of the betrayal and the impulsiveness that comes from Amnon. With a painting like this, knowing the story is only the beginning in experiencing the horror of this act.  

Well ladies and gentleman, I really hoped you all enjoyed this short tour. It has been a pleasure taking you around the MET and showing you some of my favorites statues and paintings. I hope you were enammored by the different stories and emotions shown just as I was when I first learned of them. Feel free to roam around the rest of the museum and see what other stories you may find. Have a great day and enjoy the rest of your stay.

Final Project: Paper Proposal

Topic: Humanism throughout history.

Thesis Statement: Although the humanism movement started during the time of ancient Greece and Rome it is still seen portrayed in artwork today.

Introduction: Humanism is the a movement in art history that shifted the  focus of art works from deities and worshiping the deities to a focus on humans, more specifically the ideal human. Instead of valuing a God or religion during the movement people began to focus more on valuing humanity therefore making themselves gods. equal to gods by putting themselves at the center of all social and moral concerns. Prior to the humanism movement art was typically made to worship the deities. An example of this can be seen in the photograph of the Standing Male Worshiper.
Prior to the humanism movement art was typically made to worship the deities. The Standing Male Worshiper is an example of a piece of artwork that was created before the humanism movement. As it can be seen in the photograph the creator of this sculpture did not put much effort into adding detail to the human represented in the sculpture. The artist of the sculpture created it to serve one purpose which was to be a praying stand in for the person it represented.  

                                                     Artist: N/A
Title: Standing Male Worshiper   
Date: 2900–2600 B.C.                   
Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art 

As time began to progress so the idea of humanism began to form and the shift from making art that focused on deities and worshiping them to making art that worshiped humanity and focused on the ideal human body. An example of an artwork that showed the start of the transition from focus on deities to a focus on humans is the Statue of Kouros. Unlike the Standing Male Worshiper which had almost no detail on the human body, the Statue of Kouros focuses soley on the human body. It is a representation of a young nude male. The artist of this sculpture adds small but noticeable details such as the outlining of the mans abs and chest. Another faint but drastic difference between the two sculptures is the sense of movement that can be seen in the legs of the Statue of Kouros. As seen in the photograph below, the left leg of the statue strides forward giving the sculpture a feeling of movement.
. 
Artist: N/A
Title: Statue of Kouros
Date: 600 BCE  
Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

As more time passed the humanism movement became larger and lead to much more drastic changes in the art world. An example of a artwork that shows drastic a drastic change due to the humanism movement is the statue of Polykleitos. Similar to the statue of Kouros, the Doryphoros has a sense of movement but different to the Kouros, the Doryphoros has no symmetry. Instead the statue of Polykleitos has contrapposto. Contrapposto is the use of counter balancing to form "an asymmetrical arrangement of the human figure in which the line of the arms and shoulders contrasts with while balancing those of the hips and leg."(Google definition).By giving the statue contrapposto it the artist was able to show that the statue is suppose to represent a person walking.


Artist: Polykleitos
Title: Doryphoros (Roman copy)
Date: 450-440 BCE
Museum: Museo Archaeologico Nazionale (Naples)

Proposal/Task: The student is to select five modern pieces of artworks and explain how they represent/show that the humanism movement is still a part of art to this day.

Requirements: Assemble a minimum of five works of art that relate to the thesis statement. Images should have the following information: artist, title, date.

Conclusion: After gathering and explaining the 5 artworks you have chosen the reader/ grader of this assignment should be able to easily tell how each individual piece of art relates to the humanism movement and how it is similar or different to the 3 artworks that I have listed above.  

Work Cited:Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, "Standing Male Worshipper (Tell Asmar)," in Smarthistory, December 16, 2015, accessed December 17, 2018, https://smarthistory.org/standing-male-worshipper-from-the-square-temple-at-eshnunna-tell-asmar/.

“Standing Male Worshiper.” The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/40.156/.

Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, "Marble statue of a kouros (New York Kouros)," in Smarthistory, December 20, 2015, accessed December 17, 2018, https://smarthistory.org/marble-statue-of-a-kouros-new-york-kouros/.

“Marble Statue of a Kouros (Youth).” The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/32.11.1/.

Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, "Polykleitos, Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer)," in Smarthistory, August 8, 2015, accessed December 17, 2018, https://smarthistory.org/polykleitos-doryphoros-spear-bearer/.
“Marble Statue of a Kouros (Youth).” The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/32.11.1/.


 

	


	
	






	
	

		
Final Essay (Second Topic Chosen)
	


	

		
Michael Cefalo

ARTD 1010 – 9:30 AM

Professor Shaw

Final Essay


Is Everything Connected?


                 Throughout the monumental span of history that our world has traversed through, we along with every other inhabitant have evolved a great deal. However not only have we undergone massive changes, but so has the art and sculptures produced during our ever-changing timeline. Looking back on what we have not only learned during the course of our semester but to the pieces that the Met Museum holds home to, we can begin to notice a similar trend in both the statues and art pieces. One might just play the thought off as a simple coincidence, a mere inspiration related incident that drove many pieces to follow the same trend. But if delved into deeper we can truly begin to see morsels of something greater that could be at play, something that in turn can tie everything we’ve seen throughout the last few months, and everything’s that’s been created during the last millennium, together.

Starting us off the beaten path are the sculptures I had seen at the Met. The statue of Eirene, the marble statue of the lion, and the bronze horse. At first read, these three pieces may seem as though they are leagues apart as if they have nothing to do with each other and were just made for the sake of it. And yes, that could very well be the case and they may not at all tie together, but with the information gathered about them, the times they were created, the place they originate from, and the backstories that spin their tales, we are able to weave together some loose points, giving us a pretty clear comparison. To start off, we have the piece known as the Bronze Horse. The Bronze Horse was the epitome of elegance, as it portrayed the Greeks use of Geometric art to create a wonderfully stylized piece. From this, the Greeks had begun to grow their art of creation and began to advance what they already could do. Transferring over to the piece known as the Marble Lion, we can see a clear-cut comparison. This statue usually sat guard at tombs of people with great importance, supposedly protecting them in both the mortal world and afterlife. It took the base model of the Bronze Horse and expanded on it, creating a full torso of a very realistic looking lion in a motion pose. Moving forward to the last statue I had observed from the Met, we have the Statue of Eirene. She, just as the lion, was created from a marble base (but had originally been created with a bronze base just as the Bronze Horse). Portrayed to be a goddess (daughter of Zeus and Themis), she was one of three maidens and was most closely associated with the fertility of the earth and the nurturing of children. Already closely relating to the previous two statues from the exhibit in terms of their surreal natures, they also relate in the fact that all three of them originate from Greece, and can be connected by either the product used to create them or through the form they take once completed. Though this is just the start of how each of them truly forms together. Although the may have proved to be base models for each other, they also turned out to be base models for the start of an artistic uprise in the early Roman empire. Each of these pieces were front-runners in inspiration for artists in Rome, as they had gathered pointers from each of these statues to create art in their fashion.

Upon gathering information from these three works of art and how they connect to create a much bigger picture, it is clear to see that many distinct art styles as well as sculptures tend to follow a certain “guideline” per say, or gather information from each other to create and evolve over a span of time. We have seen this many times over throughout the semester, and by doing so, I was able to incorporate that knowledge along with newfound information gathered from the Met and websites to fully conclude the ever so lingering question of if everything was truly connected. Although this may seem like a vague explanation of something that may have seemed bigger, it is, in fact, the key to unlocking a whole world of new views and methods of answering this question. It provides the baseline systemic method to follow whilst walking down this road of ever lingering questions, and the ways to solve them. Overall this was a very intriguing question to follow as a last hoorah to the wonderful semester and was made much clearer with the help of every topic gone over throughout the course.




 


Works Cited


The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/247173.


The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/248140.


The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/251050.


David, Ariel. “Linking the Past and the Present Through Art.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Sept. 2010, www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/arts/08iht-rartisrael.html.


The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, www.metmuseum.org/blogs/teen-blog/renaissance- portrait/blog/studying-art-from-the-past.

	


	
	






	
	

		
Final – Museum Tour
	


	

		
A topic that was presented to me towards the end of the semester were differences between Renaissance art and Baroque Art. On this themed museum tour, you’ll see five examples of Renaissance and Baroque pieces I have found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.


Going in chronological order, we’ll start with Renaissance pieces. The first piece titled Madonna and Child with Saints Catherine of Alexandria, Leonard, Augustine, and Apolloni by Girolamo dai Libri is a great initial representation of Renaissance art. It’s origin alone, Verona, Italy, made in the 15th century is your first indicator. It was painted for the Augustinian church of San Leonardo, an altarpiece. The juxtaposition of the lively tree and the dead one beside it represent Death and Resurrection – key themes in Renaissance art. Renaissance art is very large on liveliness, rebirth, education, teaching, philosophy and beyond. This piece is a good representation of these themes.




Second on display is an oil on canvas, Renaissance piece called Saints Peter, Martha, Mary Magdalen and Leonard by Correggio (Antonio Allegri). Depicted are four standalone saints, in their deep thought. It is said that Correggio’s work was often inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s work, a true Renaissance artist.




How these works differ from Baroque art work will be discussed with the following Baroque pieces. You would find all of these pieces in the European Art wing of the Met. It’s categorized by year 1250 – 1800, evidently including the 15th – 16th century (Renaissance works) and the 17th century (Baroque works). Baroque art work evolved from Renaissance times. It’s more about dramatic movements and motions. It was more inclusive, made for even the most illiterate to participate in.


My third viewing is titled Saint Francis in Ecstasy by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione. Upon initial glance, you can automatically draw your attention to the dramatized scenery. Vignette effect around a lit Saint Francis holding up a cross against the sky. The scene seems half realistic, half dramatized with the skull at his feet. It follows elements of Christ from the Renaissance time periods as well. There is somewhat of a unclear split between what is of the spiritual world and the realistic world as well.




My fourth and fifth pieces are also Baroque pieces. They are from the 17th century which followed the Counter-Reformation religious shift at the end of the 16th Century. Many works were altarpieces that contained a great sense of grandeur and lavishness to them.


Number four is by Caravaggio called The Denial of Saint Peter. Off bat you can see there are only two to three brightly lit subjects while the rest is set in dramatic black. There is a solider pointing his finger at Saint Peter and the woman’s two fingers represent three accusations to Peter’s three denials.




My fifth piece shows you around more dramatized effects of the Baroque art period. It is a dramatic hunting scene called A Forest at Dawn with a Deer Hunt created by Peter Paul Rubens. There are three aspects in which “hunting” is represented by: light vs. dark, growth vs. decay and life vs. death.




I chose these specific pieces because it stood out to the eye. I also searched for specific key words on the description placards such as “life, death, Renaissance, dramatic, exaggerated,” and much more. These art works accurately represent the time periods they were created in, both Baroque and Renaissance.


Works Cited:


Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Baroque Art and Architecture.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 10 Dec. 2018, www.britannica.com/art/Baroque-art-and-architecture.


Metmuseum.org, metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437526.


Metmuseum.org, metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437986.


 


 


 

	


	
	






	
	

		
Final Project Option #1- The Evolution of Realism in Art History
	


	

		
Juan Jose Hernandez 


Art 1010


Prof. Gwendolyn Shaw 


December 11th, 2018


Final Project- The Evolution of Realism in Art History


In art history, artists have developed and evolved over time, always bringing new styles of art. Although art can be interpreted and defined in many ways, in this case art is the way artist express themselves and apply certain skills in painting or sculpting in other to create a work of art. However, the way art is made has evolved over time as new artists have incorporated their innovative ideas into their work. One new movement of art is the incorporation of realism in art projects. Realism was developed by Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) who was a famous artist recognized and criticized for challenging the way painting had been made. He suggested that “‘painting is and essentially concrete art and can only consist in the representation of real and existing things’” (Finocchio, Ross, 2004) This means that the old method of exaggerating dimensions of the human body and making those look unnatural did not make art realistic. In art history realism has influenced the way art is perceived by people evolving to a more natural and realistic art rather than exaggerated dimensions and unnatural work of art.


Over time art has influenced the culture of many civilisations and usually artist paint or do sculptures in other to represent a period, or event or simply to express and idea. The way art was made in the 1400s was different from modern art. 


Below is a painting of The Dead Christ, by Andrea Mantegna c.1480-




In the image above is illustrated Jesus Christ laying in a bed after he has been crucified on the cross. The wounds and wholes of his hands and feet are visible which and the portion of Jesus body is pulled down by gravity because all his muscles are stretched and loose. The rib-cage are also very stretched, however the body as a whole is very large and it seems unnatural. The feet are the first body part upfront and they look very small compared to the whole body of Jesus. Furthermore, the face of Virgin Mary and John illustrate agony as they mourn over the death of Jesus Christ. Virgin Mary is drying her tears but the proportions of her hands do not match how far her fingers can reach towards her eye because she has it covered. Although it seems as if it was very large. One more thing to be aware of is that the hands of John are very small as he holds them together into prayer. This painting is unrealistic and unnatural, although the event is very religious and accurate, Jesus is painted to be larger than Virgin Mary and John. 


In the 1500s painting was being introduced with better and more realistic dimensions but artists were not quite there yet. 


Below is an image of Plato, Aristotle and other ancient philosophers and mathematicians depicted in Raphael’s School of Athens painted by fresco in 1509-1511-




In this painting the period of the renaissance is being represented by the accommodation of various philosophers throughout the painting. In the 1500s there was a rebirth in the interest for Roman and Greek culture because humans were thought to be the center of the universe during the introduction of Humanism during the Renaissance. The concept is represented by the many philosophers and great thinkers coming together having papers (from the very first printing press invented by gutenberg) and showing exchange of ideas through conversations and thinking postures. However the painting is unnatural because was impossible for all ancient philosophers and mathematicians to come together before an artist to paint them. The thing to notice however is that landscape was being added to the methods of doing art. There is depth in the structure because the artist included clouds that can be seen through the windows. Furthermore, there is also a mirror’s reflection of the structure seen from the point of view of the men painted. Realism is intended here but not achieved.


Realism was finally introduced in the late 1840s after the French revolution, where the french population wanted democracy and later on artists drew their focus on everyday-life of men and woman of the working class. Here art became more realistic and natural. Natural things that everyday people do such as harvesting, or brushing hair, or having lunch at the park are some examples. 


Below is a painting of The Gleaners (1857) by Jean Francois-Millet-




In the image above, three women are collecting the leftovers of the harvest, it required “hours of hunched-over labor would often be rewarded with a small amount of meal” (TheArtStory.org). This form of work was the lowest in the french society for peasant women. But he image is not altered. The artist saw a scene and decided to paint it. The body dimensions of the women are accurate and the landscape is also natural. The horse is well painted to a small size which makes it look far away. The colors of the painting make it look as late afternoon. Furthermore the trees and cattle are also well represented.


In all three images, changing from time to time, the artists have incorporated events in history in general. Artists began to focus on everyday life and working class people which gave art a natural aspect. The incorporation of realism is very important in art today. Art is defined in many ways by many individuals, but in order to express a natural event then realism must be used. Art might continue to evolve, and it should be exiting.

	


	
	






	
	

		
Final Project: Shift of Focus in Ancient Egyptian, Greek, & Roman Art
	


	

		
Sharona Abramova


ARTD 1010 – 9:30 AM


Professor Shaw


Final Essay


Shift of Focus in Art History


Throughout history, art has been a way to understand what was going on during that era. It also has had an influence for the future generations. In civilizations such as Ancient Egypt & Mesopotamia, the focus of their works of art were the gods. The focus in art shifted from Gods in Egyptian art to humans in Greek & Roman art. This is known as Humanism. The Greeks & Romans believed that humans should be celebrated equal to or even more so than the Gods in their artwork. The art of the Greeks and Romans is known as classical art.




The Brooklyn Museum


Meretseger


EGYPTIAN, CLASSICAL, ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN ART Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty


ca. 1479–1400 B.C.E.


 




As seen here, there was an emphasis that was made on the Gods in Egyptian artwork. This goddess, whose name means “she who loves silence,” has a woman head and a cobra’s body. An animal with a human head is a common thing Egyptians did in art. Some background information is that as a local deity, Meretseger guarded the Valley of the Kings, where monarchs were placed in a tomb, and the village of craftsmen who worked there. Though a dangerous animal, her purpose was to protect the workers in the valley, and also sometimes those that did wrong things. Gods were the focus in the art pieces showing superiority over human beings. This is seen in the artwork because Meretseger is not portrayed as a human being.  This shows that the gods were special because they were portrayed in a different kind of appearance compared to humans because of their animal body and were the focus in Egyptian art. 




 


The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET)


Marble statue of a kouros (youth)


Ancient Greece, Attic


ca. 590–580 B.C


This sculpture shows how humans became the center in art. This is one of the earliest marble statues of a human figure carved in Attica. Ideas were still taken from history. For example, the rigid stance, with the left leg forward and arms at the side was from Egyptian art. The statue marked the grave of a young Athenian aristocrat. These sculptural types displayed nudity, highlighting their unique hairstyles and abstracted musculature. He is standing while being nude to depict equality & to represent that the physical structure of humans were the same regardless of their social hierarchy.






The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET)






Marble statue of Hermes


Roman


1st or 2nd century A.D.




The Greeks had a major influence on Roman art. This sculpture depicts a built, muscular man standing in a more confident pose in nudity. Humans, like in Greek art, were the core in Roman art. It is a Roman replica of a statue attributed to Polykleitos. Romans tend to add a touch of humor to their artwork and that’s what made them unique.










The art of the Egyptians served a different purpose than the art of the later cultures. Egyptian art was meant to benefit a divine. However, it still did influence Greek & Roman artists. The art of the Egyptians was functional and created for a practical purpose. On the other hand, the later art was intended to be for aesthetic pleasure. The statues made by the Greeks held the spirit of the god or the deceased. The Egyptians thought of art as “functional above everyone else” (Mark, 2017). The idea of “art for art’s sake” was not familiar to them. If they saw how their art is displayed at museums nowadays, it would be incomprehensible to them. Egyptian art is still admired for its beauty and one of the reasons is that they placed a value in symmetry. Egyptian art is often criticized for being not refined because there was a lack of emotion/expression on the face, always 2D, & no light/shadow in the compositions. However, Egyptians did this on purpose. They thought that a spirit of the deity would need to represented the way they are in the pieces of art in order for the soul to continue its journey in the after life and had to survive in some form on earth.


Classical art by the Greeks & Romans owes its influence to the sheer beauty of humanity. Greece was conquered by Rome in 146 BC & that’s why Greek art had a major influence on Roman art. Romans even made copies of Greek art. They believed that a copy of an artwork doesn’t have less value than the original. The copies did often have variations to them. They often added a touch humor to some somber/serious elements portrayed in Greek artwork. They had an ability to adapt & uniquely combine their inspirations from previous centuries & that’s makes Roman art Roman.


Humanism is used in Greek & Roman art and it celebrates mankind by putting an emphasis on the human body. Humanism in different art sculptures evolved as it put more detailing on the body structures and face. They emphasized the body of man by making them have certain poses and different face expressions. Egyptian art focused more on deities & gods to honor them and put them at the center. On the other hand, Greek & Roman art focused on humans and how they’re the center of events.




 


Works Cited


Ancient Egyptian art




Introduction to ancient Greek art




Introduction to ancient Roman art




https://www.ancient.eu/Egyptian_Art/


http://history-world.org/arthist.htm


https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/4178


https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/253370


https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/254925