A Tale of Two Sculptures The human form has been a central subject in sculpture for millennia, but the way it is depicted can vary greatly depending on the intended purpose of the artwork. Comparing the Statue of Memi and Sabu (ca. 2375-2350 BCE) from Ancient Egypt and the Seated Statue of Gudea (ca. 2144-2124 BCE) of Mesopotamia reveals a fascinating contrast in how form and style reflect the function of the sculptures. The Statue of Memi and Sabu is a small-scale limestone carving depicting two men, likely friends or officials, standing side-by-side (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, n.d.). Their bodies are close, with Memi's arm wrapped around Sabu's waist in a gesture of intimacy. Their clothing is simple, emphasizing the naturalism of their form. The overall impression is one of warmth and …show more content…
The Memi and Sabu statue utilizes a closed composition, with the figures tightly arranged, creating a sense of unity and intimacy. The Seated Statue of Gudea, on the other hand, employs an open composition, with Gudea positioned centrally but with space around him, emphasizing his dominance and separation from the viewer. In conclusion, the Statue of Memi and Sabu and the Seated Statue of Gudea offer a compelling contrast in how the form and style of a sculpture are shaped by its intended purpose. The former, through its intimacy and naturalism, serves a private funerary function. The latter, with its monumentality and formality, aims to project power and authority in a public space. By examining these sculptures, we gain a deeper understanding of how artistic choices can be used to convey complex messages and serve diverse purposes. References Belton, R. J. n.d. - n.d. - n.d. Art History: A Preliminary Handbook. The University of British Columbia, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies. fccs.ok.ubc.ca/student-resources/arth/ The Metropolitan Museum of Art. n.d.a. a. n.d.a. n.d.a. n.d.a. n.d.a. n.d.a.
In this paper I am exploring “Portrait of Augustus as general” and “Khafre enthroned”. From exploring and getting to know the Statues in my Art History Book I have compared these statues (Kleiner, 2013). The first and most obvious similarity between the two is in the artists’ idealization and immortalization of their subjects. Both Khafre and Augustus are portrayed in an idealized manner, designed to give the impression of nobility, timelessness, and divinity. The two statues were the political advertisements of their times that showed the public images of reliable leaders who one
The human form transcends throughout time persistently present in art. Dating all the way back to Paleolithic human beings our renderings of idealized forms have served many purposes. Though the Neolithic and Paleolithic purpose of these renderings is widely speculative the range of reason for these depictions ranges from idolization and worship to assertion of aristocratic and economic status even to simply serving as statements of self-expression. Amongst ruins and artifacts, sculptures of ancient cultures demonstrate the ways in which humans perceptions of what is aesthetically desirable have progressed. Two idealized sculptures the Woman from Willendorf and the Khafre statue with approximately 21,500 years separating their individual gestations this demonstrate the stylistic progression of idealized imagery through time.
The Ancient Egyptian sculpture, “Statue of Nykara and His Family”, was sculpted during the late fifth dynasty. The sculpture is a depiction of Nykara, his wife, Nubkau, and son, Ankhma-Re. The statue is in poor condition with pieces of limestone missing and chips on the three subject’s faces and bodies. The painted limestone shows the conventional colors for the male and female subjects. There is a clear discoloration among Nykara and his son’s bodies. The brownish red color they once were has eroded to a light yellowish color, which resembles the purposeful color of Nykara’s wife. The hieroglyphs on Nykara’s seat insinuate that the sculpture is meant to be viewed from the front view. This is also evident by the way the three subjects are facing forward in frontal view. There are hieroglyphs on both the chair and base of the statue near Nykara’s wife and son’s feet.
The Statue of a kouros and the Portrait statue of a boy both depict similar subjects, however are greatly different in how they accomplish this task. Through detail, or lack there of, the Greeks and Romans are able to display a certain value they have in its members. These two statues were made about 500 years apart and approach the sculpting process quit differently. The Greek statue seems to use geometric exaggerated lines to form the body while the Romans use a more realistic approach and sculpt the body with a more rounded finish. Statue of a kouros, from about 590 B.C and Portrait of a boy, from about the first century, do not share any great technical aspects and are basically nothing alike.
The Colossal Statue of King Tuthankhamun and the Lamassu are amazing works of art. Of the eight works assigned, these two particularly caught my eye. The two pieces, though very different, have many similarities. In this paper, I will discuss these similarities and differences of style in terms of their overall shape, proportions, and individual parts.
In the Ancient Middle East, the Roman time periods brought about many different works of art. The Votive Statue of Gudea, an Ancient Near Eastern work, and the Augustus of Primaporta, a Roman work, are good representations of art from their respective time periods. The two works have many similarities and differences within their formal elements, iconography, and historical significance to the time periods in which they were crafted. The Votive Statue of Gudea and the Augustus of Primaporta have similar formal elements through their subjects and differ through their styles and size. The Votive Statue of Gudea is a statue of Gudea, a ruler in the Ancient Near East.
The principles, elements and structures of Buddhism have been practiced for hundreds of years. Artistic renditions of Buddha have also been portrayed in many different ways. Drawings, sculptures and statues are just a few of the many types of art forms created since the beginning of Buddhism. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has many different stylistic artworks that are exceptionally intriguing. In particular, I have chosen two pieces of artwork I consider to be most interesting.
In my examination of the works, I came across a particular sculpture that portrayed both beauty and craftsmanship. A 15th century sculpture (1490), made in Venice, Italy by Tullio Lombardo, shows a life-size figure of Adam. Titled Adam, the work is the most prominent in the gallery mostly because of its 6-foot standing. It immediately caught my attention and gave me a very realistic impression. One beige color and made of marble, Adam is depicted simply, yet the statue has intense emotions. His meaningful glance is seen in the upward and tilted head position. Adam has almost lifeless looking eyes and seems to be staring into the distance. With these sagging eyes, parted lips, and lacking posture I feel Adam’s guilt is displayed in this figure.
Marble statue of a kouros (youth), Greek, Attic, ca. 590-580 B.C. Fletcher Fund, 1932. Accession number: 32.11.1
I chose this sculpture because I was intrigued by the position of the man and the centaur. I was able to witness that the centaur is trying to invade the personal space of the man. The sculpture showed me that there is a strong relationship between man and creature. The quality of the sculpture made me realize that animals play a big part of a human’s life and can be seen as threatening to humans. It was interesting to see that both the man and centaur were created to have almost of the same structures. This statue has a metallic brown and green, bronze tone and appeared undersized. It has a height of four and a half feet, and six inches. It has long, thin, legs with calf muscles, and bulging thighs. The sculpture evolved from Olympia, Greece. The man and centaur sculpture was created in 750 BCE during an orderly time period. The colors used for this sculpture, proved that it has a longer lasting mold for statues. On the left side of the sculpture, the man has a wrap on his head, that can symbolize, he is some form of a god. On the right side, the centaur has the same head piece as the man, but the body of a horse. It can be seen that the man and
The city of Rome delivers rich culture, influential architecture, and beautiful scenery that collectively demonstrate a course of great history and a prominent civilization. There are various structures from Imperial Rome that are highly recognized and mentioned within artistic research. Some examples include the Pantheon, Basilica Ulpia, Flavian Amphitheater, Arch of Titus, and Column of Trajan. Also referred to as Trajan’s Column, the iconic sculpture retains a prestigious appearance as it’s shown with characteristics of empowering height and intricate detail (Fig. 1). When analyzing such a remarkable piece of artwork one should consider the different elements that pertain to the subject matter and historical context. With that in mind, this paper presents the argument that the column is not only a portrayal of the Dacian Wars but also a funerary monument, paradigm of military inspiration, and tribute to Trajan’s reign.
The trip to the metropolitan museum was a great trip to learn and to study art. What is art you may ask, well art is an expression you use to show a visual picture. It can be through painting or through sculptures. Some other example of art is music, literature and dancing. For today 's paper we will be talking about art as a sculpture. The two sculptures in this photo are King Sahure and a Nome God and Marble Statue of Dionysos leaning on archaistic female figure (Hope Dionysos). You can find these statues in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. King Sahure and a Nome God is an Egyptian art that was made in 2458-2446 BCE. The artist is unknown. It was during the 5th dynasty and it also belong to the old kingdom. The Marble statue of Dionysos Leaning in the archaistic female figure is a Greco-Roman art. Belonging to the Roman imperial period of the late first century A.D. Augustan or Julio-Claudian period 27 B.C., to 68 AD. It is classified as a stone sculpture and it is made out of marble. The height of the statues is 82 ¾ inches. There is no evidence who was the original artist.
a shift can be seen from idealized and nearly perfect sculptures to sculptures that had a natural and real feel to them. These newer statues were sculpted with the notion of Realism weighing more than the concept of Idealism. The subjects’ body was not in a state of military attention, they were placed in a more natural, yet still graceful position. Realistic sculptures also did not embellish the muscular physique of the subject; the muscle definition was displayed more subtly and naturally. The weight of Realistic statues is not distributed in a balanced, geometric fashion like the Ideal statues. The Realistic statues balance their weight just as a real person would in motion which gives the sculpture a more graceful and natural
Colin (Davis) Geiger 12/6/2017 Art History Peter Beal I decided to choose 4 sculptures that exemplified authority and/or power, all from entirely different eras. The four sculptures chosen were, in no particular order of date created, Khafre Enthroned (Ancient Egypt), Augustus of Primaporta (Golden Age of Ancient Greece), George Washington (1700's), and Laocoön and His Sons (Ancient Rome). Each 4 of these sculptures exemplify power and authority of some sort, some in a religious or spiritual way, some in a noble way, and others in a storytelling way. First I will start with Augustus of Primaporta.
Across cultures, continents, and worlds, the majority of things within the scope of our very own humanity can be boiled down to two things: those who are dominant, and those who get dominated. Within these statuses lie stories of power struggles, rebellion, the rising and falling of those with influence, and the interconnection between a being with power and the people under his ruling. Through the visual works catered to this subject, we will discuss themes such as the power of immortalization, divinity amongst humans, what it really means to be a ruler, and many other details making up the ever-present, multifaceted relationship between rulers and their subject. With the assistance of the Blanton Museum of Art, I will be able to showcase