For the final assignment, I will be doing the first option, which is the paper proposal.
Thesis statement:
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 three works of art I will be discussing include:
The Brooklyn Museum
Meretseger
EGYPTIAN, CLASSICAL, ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN ART Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty
ca. 1479–1400 B.C.E.
From the side:
I will be using this to show the 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 entombed, 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 to punish people who 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 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

Marble statue of Hermes
Roman
1st or 2nd century A.D.