My Favorite time periods

            The art I most enjoyed came from the Egyptian period and the Greek. I am very drawn to these periods because Egypt is of great interest to me, specifically its ancient society and culture. The art Egyptians made was so unique as it intergraded many symbols, colors, storytelling, and religious themes. I also like Egyptian art because the gods were so cool looking. There are people that are half human, half animals and the stories surrounding these gods were very creative and fun to learn about. As I mentioned before I also love the Greek Period because realism for the human anatomy was finally realized. I really enjoy looking at the perfection of the human body. The Greek’s had a particular look that every female and male had to look like and I admire it. The need for sculptures to look real as possible generated this aura of intense dynamism. I do admire the sculptures of the Greek Period, but its historical context increased my admiration for the period. I love mythology so the incorporation, like in the Egyptian art, of ancient gods and goddesses drew me to the Greek Period.

            An example of Egyptian art that draws my attention is the Judgment of Hunefer before Osiris. As I mentioned before the incorporation of symbols, mythology, storytelling, and fine detail attracts me and the Judgment of Hunefer before Osiris. To many people who don’t know well into Egyptian mythology the piece may seem interesting that it has an array of colorful figures, but one who does know it has an array of meanings. Such as the eye of Horus, this is meant for good luck, and to have a good life. The Ankh at the top of the piece is the symbol of life, many of the symbols add to the theme and message to the piece. What also drew me in was the placement of all the gods such as Osiris, Isis, Anubis, Horus, Thoth, and Ammit. Hunefer is taken by hand with Anubis through the journey of death to the afterlife and I think the composition of the piece is a nice way of telling a story. Although the colors are little bland and ordinary the placement of the colors compliments the piece.

             For the Greeks I really like The weary Herakles (Farnese Hercules) because simply drawing men is what I am good at, and the Greeks gave a spectacular example of what a god like man should look like. As I’ve said before I love anatomy specifically male anatomy, Ive studied and practiced the art of the male form. Many of my inspirations for the male form come from the Greeks. All the muscles on Herakles are as accurate as they come, from the muscles on thighs to the muscles on the top of the arm. Human perfection was a large theme the Greeks were using I’m assuming because they saw the human body as a beautiful art work within itself. The shadows and on his body work beautifully for the statue. Herakles looks as if he can grab the club he is leaning on and walk off. His stance is of power and calmness. His power is shown from the sheer size of his body and the downward glance Herakles is giving as a sign of domination, but his body language is very calm and relaxed giving the feeling that he is resting.

            Overall I really enjoyed the class, I saw many pieces of art from many periods and learned what inspired art in those times. The Egyptian period and the Greek period were by far my favorite, but I expect that once I come across more periods my admiration for artistic period will increase.

Byzantine and Early Medieval Option 1

            As the fall of the Roman Empire was nearing, so was the traditional ways artist’s depicted nature. As society was leaning towards religion, specifically Christianity, artists were influenced by the stories and teachings of the Bible. The two works of art I decided to discuss that depart from naturalism are the Virgin and child with saints and angels on page 245 and Page with Christ washing the feet of his disciples, Aachen gospels of Otto III on page 451.

            On the Virgin and child with saints and angels depth is not shown. There are hardly any indications of shadows, so the details of the faces on the humans look unrealistic. The two saints standing beside the virgin are not foreshortened or shadowed in a way that the viewer cannot tell if the saints are beside in front or behind the chair. The placement of the angels looks awkward and unrealistic, they are colored lighter than the individuals in the front, but no heavy shading indicates they are far away. Baby Jesus sitting delicately on the virgin’s lap is not portrayed as having any weight. The drapery of the virgin’s clothes offer no sense of weight as the baby is seated on her lap. What also seems stylized are the faces, all the faces don’t seem to follow a set of rules in order to make a face. For example, the virgin’s right eye is placed higher and larger than the left eye and the rest of the group’s eyes are abnormally shaped. The saint’s hair looks very simplistic; there is no real indication of texture in the hair. The skin color of the individuals all seem stylized as the saint on the left is shown in a more realistic skin color, while everyone else is colored in a ghostly white. There also seems to be no direction of light as all the lights and darks are mixed.

            In the Page with Christ washing the feet of his disciples, Aachen gospels of Otto III the departure from naturalism is intensified. The stylization of the humans is apparent in the facial expressions and overall anatomy. The eyes seem dead like as there is no white on the eyeballs and show no sign of life in the pupils. The nose is simplified dramatically, only showing a little hint of shadow and some ink coloring. The lips have no fullness to them; they are portrayed small thin with no shadows. The feet and arms are abnormally large, especially the fingers and toes. The architecture in the background is shown with no real depth. The only sense of depth I can see is the use of a focal point of the building. The gold background Christ is in front of has horizontal lines giving an indication that they are stairs and the pillars beside the stairs are not shown in perspective, so it furthers the theme of stylization.

            Both these works of art are far from naturalistic. They both don’t show any perspective, so there is no indication of three dimensional planes. The anatomy of the humans is stylized to a more comical form. My guess as to why these cultures descended from naturalism is the importance of the message than the art. Christianity dominated almost all aspects of life in the Byzantine and Early Medieval era. As the Catholic Church had a firm control on society they pressured many of the artists to emphasize the message and symbolism of the art. 

Roman and Early Christian: Option 1

In ancient times power was the factor rulers needed to acquire in order for them to maintain control over their country and people. Rulers such as Commodus and Caracalla did not have commercials to advertise their power, so sculpture and visual art was utilized in order to convey a message of power and control to their country. This type of propaganda was very effective because stone and marble don’t wear out in a short time, the details showed how powerful and real the rulers looked so the people of that time could feel like their ruler was watching them. Also the rulers used sculptures to emphasize their power to strike fear into their enemies or any opposition. The bust of Commodus as Hercules and the portrait head of Caracalla are examples of propagandistic art.

            The bust of Commodus as Hercules exhibits many ideas and symbols. Hercules was an ancient god to the Romans. He was a symbol of power, courage, strength, victory, and good. The statement Commodus is trying to portray is that he is as courageous, powerful, and strong as Hercules. For example Commodus is wearing the lion skin Hercules wore after he defeated a lion. In one hand he is holding a club and in the other the golden apples Hercules sought after in the Garden of Hesperides. Commodus’s vanity is present in the expression of his body. His body is portrayed in a classical view; the marble well smoothed and polished giving his anatomy an impressive depiction of well proportion in his muscles. His face is very peaceful and serene looking, yet he looks firm and confident in his abilities as a ruler. The ringlets in his hair and beard also show that Commodus was very prideful and cared about his appearance. The portrait head of Caracalla also conveys a message of power, courage, and strength. The only difference is Caracalla is portrayed more aggressive and militaristic than Commodus.

 The portrait of Caracalla is shown more masculine and rugged. His features have deep contrast between light and dark giving the portrait a more intense and dynamic facial expression. The details drilled and carved into Caracalla’s portrait are very bold and deliberate. The viewer can see deep set wrinkles on his forehead, cheeks, and the bridge of his nose. Emphasizing these features gives Caracalla a very serious look. The deep engraving of his eyes expresses his determination and his eyes are very deep set dominating everything else on his face, giving him a more brooding mood. His heavy brow accentuates his eyes, giving a darker shadow to his complexion. His short hair and intense gaze gives hints that he was militaristic in his rule. Caracalla was probably trying to convey fear and aggressiveness to his people and enemies. Based on his militaristic look he probably ran his country with an iron fist. He was determined to run his country his way and he did not tolerate disobedience.

            The bust of Commodus as Hercules looked to me more of a piece that was put in a royal court or plaza where many people can see and admire its features and details. Based on Commodus bust, he was probably a man that wasn’t aggressive towards his people. He cared more about materialistic ideas of how rulers should be. The portrait of Caracalla is more portable since it only exhibits his head. This piece could be remade all over the city, so that all the citizens can see that his rule is strong and well grounded. His enemies can also see this and realize he is not a man that will back down. He is determined to conquer and vanquish his enemies at any cost.

Option 2 Greek

            Based on the articles I’ve read, I believe it is wrong that the British Museum is holding the Parthenon Marbles all to themselves. I don’t really care that it’s in Britain; my main argument is the British Museum has no right to withhold all the Parthenon Marbles exclusively to their Museum. Lord Elgin toke most of the Parthenon Marbles through legal means by asking the Ottoman Empire in 1799 for permission to take some sketches of the sculptures and some plaster casts of the Parthenon Marbles and some reliefs. A little time after that the Ottoman sultan granted him complete access to the Parthenon and over the years Lord Elgin’s people hacked away most of the Parthenon Marbles. Lord Elgin’s actions may have been legal, but his act of taking away the Parthenon Marbles away from its own birth place is an act of vandalism.

            Although I, and I am certain many people will agree with me that Lord Elgin’s actions were an act of vandalism, it is not a major reason as to why the Parthenon Marbles should be exclusive to the British Museum. Lord Elgin’s actions were in the past, so Greece cannot really penalize Britain for keeping the Parthenon Marbles because Lord Elgin stole them. The British Museum does have a good argument that the smog polluted city of Greece would’ve destroyed the Parthenon Marbles, but now that the Acropolis Museum has been built in Greece to preserve and exhibit the Parthenon Marbles; Greece should have the right and privilege to show the Parthenon Marbles in the Acropolis Museum. Not only do I agree that the Parthenon Marbles should be showed in the Acropolis Museum, but I believe art as culturally significant as the Parthenon Marbles should be shown in Museums around the world. The location of the Parthenon Marbles may have been in Greece, but it doesn’t mean Greece gets to keep the Parthenon Marbles to themselves as well. The Parthenon Marbles were a significant achievement in sculpting and of the human form. The Greek civilization was such a cultural significance globally because of its art, society, culture and government. These aspects of Ancient Greece spread all across the globe, so in a sense, the Parthenon Marbles belongs to no one group or state, it belongs to all human civilization.

             Although I believe that the Parthenon Marbles are exquisite and beautiful to look at, I do think that the British Museum exhibiting the Parthenon Marbles for mainly aesthetic reasons is wrong. Keeping such an important achievement in art for that reason is not justifiable enough to not share the Parthenon Marbles with other Museums. The British Museum, in my opinion, can only keep the Parthenon Marbles for its historical context and to preserve history. So I don’t think the British Museum should keep the Parthenon exclusive to them even if it legally belongs to them. The Parthenon Marbles should be exhibited everywhere around the world, so that many people can have access to view the Marbles and see what a cultural importance they are, especially to Western civilizations.