I visited the Minneapolis Institute of Art November 11, 2015 to study works of art in person and to consider how these works are displayed in a museum setting verses how they were originally intended to be seen. I will be comparing certain works of art from Greece and India, to other pieces if artwork found in Understanding Art 10th Edition by Fichner-Rathus.
The first piece of art I will be discussing is a sculpture by an unknown artist called Crouching Lion, made in Greece around 330-317 B.C. Approximate dimensions of the Crouching Lion are 29’’ tall x 48’’ wide. It is made of Pentelic marble. “Although the ancient Greeks used a variety of animals, including bulls, griffins and lions, to decorate tombs, lions were the most popular, typically functioning as guardian figures,” (MIA placard). The Crouching Lion was created during “The Classical period in Greek sculpture, ending in 323 B.C. with the death of Alexander the Great, emphasized accuracy of physical details, as shown here in the veins and musculature of the feline body” (Crouching Lion), “and ends in 31 BC with the conquest of the last Hellenistic kingdom by Rome, the Lagid kingdom of
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No. 13-19). These two pieces of art are use were used to decorate tombs, although Female Idol was placed inside tombs, and were both made out of a type of marble. There was roughly a 1670 year difference between the pieces of art, with the large time gap I thought there would be more disable differences. “The breasts, abdomen, and pubic area were more defined than the limbs and head,” of Female Idol (Fichner-Rathus). The Crouching Lion on the other hand, is much more made to scale, along with appropriate proportions. The Crouching Lion symbolizes and functions as a guardian figure, whereas Female Idol purpose was unknown; some argue that it represents goddesses, while others believe it has to do with
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 emotion in the figures is also very different. In the archaic figure, the face contains emotion other than the archaic smile. The eyes are closed with no facial expression. The classical statue on the other hand does not have any facial expressions but has open eyes and no smile.
To conclude, both sculptures do not have much in common, but it is obvious that the artists had knowledge in human anatomy and was able to sculpt them spectacularly. It is also obvious the break from somewhat idealistic to realistic human nature. The change is so drastic that one might not believe that both sculptures come from the same Greece because it is so well-known for its astonishing artworks found in temples, building, etc.
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 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.
With works in every known medium, from every part of the world, throughout all points in history, exploring the vast collection of the Museum of Modern Art was an overwhelming experience. The objects in the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts are an important historical collection, reflecting the development of a number of art forms in Western Europe. The department's holdings covered sculpture in many sizes, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, jewelry, and tapestries. The gallery attracted my appreciation of the realistic qualities of the human body often portrayed in sculpture.
Many might have been working on Good Friday, but many others were enjoying The Frist Museum of Visual Arts. A museum visitor visited this exhibit on April 14, 2017 early in the morning. The time that was spent at the art museum was approximately two hours and a half. The first impression that one received was that this place was a place of peace and also a place to expand the viewer’s imagination to understand what artists were expressing to the viewers. The viewer was very interested in all the art that was seen ,but there is so much one can absorb. The lighting in the museum was very low and some of the lighting was by direction LED lights. The artwork was spaciously
Cothren, M. & Marilyn Stokstad. (2011). Art History, Volume 2, 4th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Learning Solutions.
The exhibit that I viewed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art was one about European Art between the years 1100-1500. This was a series of paintings, sculptures, architecture, and tapestry of the Medieval and Early Renaissance as well as objects from the Middle East. This exhibit was an important part of the history of the Philadelphia Museum of Art because for the first time, Italian, Spanish, and Northern European paintings from the John G. Johnson collection were shown. It gave me a good idea of what the paintings were like in these four centuries and reflected ideas of both the east and the west.
Conlin, Diane Atnally. The artists of the Ara Pacis: the process of Hellenization in Roman relief sculpture. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1997. (P. 4)
These sculptures appear to be in breath form due to the oversized stomach; indicating air in the stomach from inhaling. These sculptures appear to have high relief imagery as well. They are sculpted all the way around instead of having a backing. These sculptures also appeared to never have had any paint or lacquer on them. This is indicative of the lackof remnants on the sculptures. The pillars that these human-like beings were sitting on have intricate detail. The one to the left has more detail to view. I assume this is because over time the detail may have been worn off. Based on my examination of this sculpture, I believe this detail comes from being stamped or possibly carved.
The Romans have adopted many features from the Greek style of art and architecture during the third and second centuries B.C. During that time period the Romans discovered that they have taking a liking to Greek statues, which they placed in many different places. The Roman sculptors then decided to also start making statues alongside the Greeks. The statues that the Romans created were realistic looking with, sometime, unpleasant details of the body. The Greeks made statues with, what they thought of, ideal appearances in the statues figure. Sculpture was possibly considered the highest form of art by the Romans, but figure painting was very high considered as well. Very little of Roman painting has survived the tests of time.
...o understanding and appreciating Greek art is significant, but as seen through the writings of Gazda, Marvin and Ellen, the practice of appreciating Greek sculpture as presented by the conservative historians is of detriment to the writings and perceptions of historians, as well as the general education of the public. Unfortunately, due to the popularity of the abovementioned historians during their times of writings, methodology including Kopienkritik has remained a valued and prevalent approach to judging and analysing of both Greek and Roman sculpture, despite increased criticism. All of these factors serve to undermine the validity of the construct, and show that while the construct may have suited and served the purposes of those who created it, it does nothing to legitimately further proper and rational history of Greek and more specifically, Roman sculpture.
Honour, Hugh, and John Fleming. "Hellenistic and Roman Art." A World History of Art. London: Laurence King, 1999. 179-213. Print.
Even the few sculptor’s names known to us, usually by chance, from the imperial period are Greek names and seem to confirm the assumption that these artists’ work should be regarded simply as a late phase of Greek art” (Hanfmann, 12). The Greeks were the first western culture to figure out how to accurately depict the human form which they did through the use of geometric ratios. It is also widely accepted that it was even Greek artists who first made marble portraits for the Romans as the Romans originally had no skill with the stone. “It was certainly at first Greek artists who were entrusted by eminent Romans with the execution of portraits of themselves and of important personalities in the Roman state, just as it was Greeks who depicted Aemilius Paulus victory at Pydna and later were largely responsible for the portraits of the emperors” (Kahler 16). The Romans mainly used terracotta for their sculptures and it was only when Augustus reigned that the marble quarries at Carrara were opened and marble was used on a large scale. The Romans inherited the use of realistic proportions, the sense of movement (contrapposto), and the overall beauty of Greek sculptures. A great example of Roman sculpture that was clearly carved by a Greek artist who was familiar with the Hellenistic styles of Greece, is the Relief of the Wedding of Amphitrite and Neptune. It “shows a mythological