Image List and Thesis Statement

Outline/Background – Final Project

The topic I chose for the final project is about the role of women in the ancient world. I want to learn and explore how different civilizations have portrayed women in ancient art.

Thesis: Ancient art displays the scenarios of society, cultures, and traditions of the ancient world. It reflects the life of people during that era, as well as the role each play, including, men, women, children, and even God. In this paper, I will analyze the artworks which portray women from different civilizations and compare the role that women have played in each civilization of the ancient world. The following artworks relate to my topic; they represent Egypt, Roman, Greek, and Mesopotamian cultures. Each of the art pieces illustrates the women of each civilization, how they were viewed, and what role they have played in their society.

Artist: Pacetti, Vincenzo

Title: Statue of Dionysos leaning on a female figure (“Hope Dionysos”)

Date: 27 B.C.–A.D. 68

Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Artist: Unknown

Credit Line: Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Title: Shabty of Sati

Date: ca. 1390-1352 B.C.E.

Museum: Brooklyn Museum

Artist: Unknown

Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1931

Title: Terracotta lekythos (oil flask)

Date: ca. 550–530 B.C.

Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Artist: Unknown

Credit Line: Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Title: Woman Holding a Lily Scepter

Date: 305-30 B.C.

Museum: Brooklyn Museum

Artist: Unknown

Credit Line: Gift of Helena Simkhovitch in memory of her father, Vladimir G. Simkhovitch

Title: Female Figurine

Date: late 3rd-millennium B.C.E.

Museum: Brooklyn Museum

Final Project Outline (Museum Visit)

Starting in the period of Roman art, we began to see more children depicted in sculptures in which they began to resemble more and more what a child looks like in real life. I am using the museum visit to explore the idea that children are used in artworks to provide different a different perspective and to showcase the evolution of humanism throughout the Ancient Worlds.

Image List:

Statue of Queen Ankhnes-myre II and her son, Pepy II

Bronze statue of a camillus (acolyte), Roman A.D. 14-54, Early Imperial, Julio Claudian

Praxiteles Hermes with the Infant Dionysus,

Marble grave stele with a family group, ca. 360 B.C., Late Classical

Bronze statue of Eros sleeping, 3rd-2nd century B.C., Hellenistic Period

Thesis Statement: The form of writing in the Ancient Egyptian culture, hieroglyphics, was used to beautify everyday objects and nic-nacs in addition to what it would be normally used for, according to the ‘outside’ world.

Final Project Outline

Theme: Humanism of the Gods and Goddesses in Greco-Roman Art

Thesis Statement: These works of art illustrate the value of humanity as something that is not to be belittled through its humanized representation of its very own gods, something not common in other depictions of gods throughout the span of human art.

Image List:

Statue of Dionysos leaning on a female figure ("Hope Dionysos"), Restored by Pacetti, Vincenzo, Marble, Roman

Title: Statue of Dionysos leaning on a female figure (“Hope Dionysos”)

Artist: Restored by Pacetti, Vincenzo

Date: 27 B.C.–A.D. 68

Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art

How It Relates To My Project: This god is portrayed as having very anatomical human features. He holds himself as a human male would when showing off his strength. His head tilt and bent knee show that his body functions the way a human’s would, so the humanism is clear here.

Marble head of a goddess, Marble, Greek

Title: Marble head of a goddess

Artist: unknown

Date: 4th century BC

Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art

How It Relates To My Project: This goddess looks very human in her bored or irritated expression. She is shown as having human emotions, and as reacting to such emotions in an utterly human way. The humanism is her carved features is present as well.

Bronze statue of Eros sleeping, Bronze, Greek

Title: Bronze statue of Eros sleeping

Artist: unknown

Date: 3rd–2nd century BC

Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art

How It Relates To My Project: This artwork highlights how Eros, the god of sensual love and desire, is illustrated in a completely human stance. Most gods, at this time, and, even still today, would not be interpreted as sleeping. Yet, here is one of the Greco-Roman gods sleeping in a way that looks so characteristically human.

Marble head of Athena, Marble, Greek

Title: Marble head of Athena

Artist: unknown

Date: ca. 200 BC

Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art

How It Relates To My Project: This work makes humanism in her facial structures very visible. She has a human emotion on her face, of a slightly surprised disgust. Her head is caught in a motion of turning that looks very characteristic of a human turning their head to look at something.

Eros Stringing His Bow 21

Title: Eros Stringing His Bow

Artist: Lysippos (Greek original); Roman copy artist unknown

Date: 2nd Century AD

Museum: Onassis Cultural Center

How It Relates To My Project: This artwork highlights how Eros is, yet again, taken down to an almost human stance. He stands like a human would when stringing a bow as he is doing. He does not look ‘god-like’ when he strings his bow; he looks like an average human doing this. His body moves in a human fluidity, and the specific carvings also illustrate humanism.

Image List and Thesis Statement

These works relate to my final project because they demonstrate the themes present in Basquiat and Warhol’s work that I will be working with –Warhol’s use of celebrity culture, crude advertisement and Basquiat’s exploration of power structure dynamics and racism– all taking place behind an American backdrop. These paintings highlight Basquiat and Warhol’a unique American identity they created within their art. While both artists traverse the American landscape, what their art represents, or brings to life, is something entirely idiosyncratic.

Thesis: Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat create a uniquely American aesthetic through the themes present in their artwork. While both artists explore and work in the medium of American culture, how they represent that culture differs greatly. Warhol focuses his work on crude advertisement and celebrity culture, while Basquiat’s explores themes of power structure dynamics, institutionalized racism, street art and graffiti art. Basquiat and Warhol offer a unique American identity behind both their individual work, and their joint collaborations.