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Role of art in religion
Compare Mesopotamian and Egyptian art
Difference between Egyptian and Mesopotamian art
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When comparing two forms of artwork, it may be quite difficult to tell them apart. And when those artworks are thousands upon thousands of years old, it certainly does not help the issue. When looking at both Egyptian and Sumerian art, there is certainly a resemblance to some degree. Both are from before our time, and both express the beliefs and culture of their respective lineage. But if you delve deeper, you can certainly start to see a difference. Egyptian art is known widely for its hieroglyphics, while Sumerian art may be seen as focusing more on the naturalistic views on the human form. Both these cultures deserve the utmost respect, for their artwork to survive through the millenniums as they have, we can only give credit where credit is due. Some may not know the reason behind many of these artworks, but during these time periods, you did not make something for no reason at all. Everything had a purpose, or it was considered a waste of precious resources. Since Egyptian art is perhaps the most well known, we will delve into it's culture and reasons behind the artwork first.
Egyptian art is known widely for its depiction on telling a story with artwork. The Egyptian hieroglyphics portray this perfectly, though the main focus of these interesting forms may have a different meaning than some are used to. This is also true for the way many Egyptians portray their human figures. There is a continuous quality about them that has spanned many centuries. The figures are almost always stiff, posed in a manner that shows authority and drives the point of the artwork home. Even the astounding hieroglyphics are depicted in a manner that shows the figure at the best angle, even if it is contorted. Most of them are based around ...
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...do what pleases us? Do we put effort into things that do not matter? It can almost certainly be said that we do not, just as the Sumerian and Egyptian cultures did. Perhaps this means we are all simply human, or perhaps we are closer to our past than we want to believe.
Works Cited
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Moortgat, Anton. The Art of Ancient Mesopotamia. 1st. New York: Phaidon Publishers Inc., 1969. Print.
Sweeney, Emmet John. The Pyramid Age. New York: Algora Pub, 2007. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) Web. 10. Feb 2014.
The Judgement of Hu-Nefer. 1995. Photograph. British Museum, London, UK. Web. 12 Feb 2014.
The Standard of Ur. N.d. Photograph. Penn MuseumWeb. 12 Feb 2014. .
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.
Another artistry that was visualized within the Epic was Sumerian architecture. There was mention of the walls in Uruk. "In Uruk he built walls...The outer wall where the cornice runs...the inner wall has...
Sumerians and Egyptians can be different in many ways; they can be different in geography, religion, and kings. In Sumer rivers flooded but they were very unpredictable, different of Egypt where the river was very predictable. Sumerians hated their afterlife, but the Egyptians loved their afterlife. Hammurabi was very different from the Pharaohs in Egypt. They ruled differently. Sumer and Egypt are both ancient civilizations, but they are very different from each
Cothren, Michael W. "Art of the Ancient Near East." Art History Ancient Art. By Marilyn Stokstad. Fourth ed. Print.
Egyptian art is infamous across the world - classified by the monumental pyramids, and the Sphinx. Although these are both valid forms of Egyptian art, they do not make up the entire artistic history of the country. On the contrary, perhaps the most replicated example of classic Egyptian art, from the Old Kingdom, can be found in their rendering of the human form. An interest in portraiture developed early in Egypt. (Gardner, 75) Whether painted on pottery, or cut into rock, the figures all had notably Egyptian characteristics. "The seated statue is one of only a very small number of basic formulaic types employed by the sculptors of the Old Kingdom." (Gardner, 75)
For my final project I chose to compare two works of art from ancient Mesopotamia. A visual work of art and a literary one. The visual work of art I chose was the Statuettes of Worshipers which were created around 2900 to 2350 BCE at the Square Temple at Eshnunna, a city in ancient Mesopotamia. The literary artwork I have chosen is the Epic of Gilgamesh written roughly around 2800 BCE by author or authors unknown. It was set in Uruk, another city in ancient Mesopotamia. Both of these works of art share a common theme; the theme of immortality. It is my hopes that within this paper I can accurately show how each of these works of art express this theme, and how it relates to modern society.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ‘Egyptian Art’, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Art. New Series, Vol. 41, No. 3, Egyptian Art (Winter, 1983-1984): pp. 1+3-56
The Oriental Institute featured an exhibit focused on the development of ancient Middle East Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East 1919–20 January 12 - August 29, 2010. And this was the exhibit I found most intriguing and most i...
The ancient Egyptians are known for many of the incredible aspects of their culture and everything they have produced. Some of the well known ancient Egyptian relics are the ones like the ancient pyramids, the Great Sphinx of Giza, mummies, and their many forms of art. Ancient Egyptian art is one of the most recognized styles of art. The most commonly known types of ancient Egyptian art are types like paintings, ceramics, and sculptures. Not only is Egyptian art beautiful, but it carries a huge deal of value and significance with it. A great portion of the time, the art has some kind of religious meaning to it. Consequently it is very difficult to discuss the art itself without delving into the various gods and goddesses presented in it. Something that particularly struck me about ancient Egyptian art was their proneness to use animals in their art. Not only do they use the animal’s full figure, but they also put individual parts on human bodies. This intrigued me because not many cultures have art that embrace animals to this extent. I will be exploring why the ancient Egyptians depict animals in their art repeatedly, and considering what they meant to them.
Like today paintings in Ancient Egypt were found everywhere, but as time passed by paintings meant different things1 that made it harder for us to identify what some of the art they did meant. To remember the important people, the Ancient Egyptians painted portraits so their presence will always be with them even though they have passed away. Most of the time the Ancient Egyptians would exaggerate paintings that cause the paintings to be inaccurate and unrealistic.2 Before the Artist can start painting they had to go through a special process, the process was quite simple; a square grid paper covered in red paint was prepared. They did this so that they can make sure that the proportions were aligned. Now days we don’t use grid paper covered in red paint, the artists uses a ruler. These days we see all the great paintings located inside museums. Back then the great paintings were mural paintings (wall paintings) and these mural paintings were found in the walls leading toward tombs. Usually the paintings that were painted were what that person’s life was before entering the after-life. The paint the Ancient Egyptians used was from nature, it was a natural source, white was from Gypsum or Calcium carbonate, Red was from Ochre or Iron oxide, blue was from copper or Lapis Lazuli, green was from copper chloride compound and glues were made from egg white. Ancient Egypt’s painting was very symbolic
In modern society, Greek pottery is considered an art which is regarded as much for its aesthetic splendor as its historical significance. However, the role of pottery in ancient Greek culture was far more functional as its primary use was for the transportation and storage of such liquids as water and wine (Encyclopedia Britannica). Due to the durability of the fired clay material, Greek pottery is the only remaining art form that allows us to explore the evolution of this ancient culture. Through that examination, three distinct stylistic periods have been unveiled: Geometric, Orientalizing and Archaic. This analysis will detail these distinct periods as well as three design techniques prevalently used: black figure, red figure and white ground
Damrosch, David, and David Pike. The Longman Anthology of World Literature. The Ancient World. Volume C. Second Edition. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2009. Print.
Richardson, Seth. "An Assyrian Garden of Ancestors: Room I, Northwest Palace, Kalhu." State Archives of Assyria Bulletin 13 (1999): 145-216.
The Mesopotamian culture was in the Middle East and this time period was during the time that the region was uprising. Where politics, religion, and gods were dominantly important. During this time came the god Marduk, which became the supreme leader of the culture and the city of Babylon. From the uprising of this god came the magnificent art piece known as the snake dragon! This sculpture was associated with the god Marduk himself, and is still known today for its meaning and significance on the Ishtar Gate! I, like many others adore this art piece and that is the reason why I choose to reflect on it. Furthermore, that is why I choose to reflect on the Snake-Dragon sculpture, and some interesting facts about it, its significance, and its meaningful history in the Mesopotamian culture during the Neo-Babylonian period!
Another major aspect of Egyptian life that was heavily influenced by religion was art. Almost all paintings and other forms of art were either done for the gods or representing the gods or pharaohs. Artists were even considered some of the highest members of society because they did work for the deities. An interesting fact about Egyptian art was the awkward position the bodies were in. All people depicted in the artwork were standing sideways with every body part visible. No one knows for certain why the people were depicted that way, but it is common belief that it was necessary to show all body parts so the gods wouldn’t get angry for being misrepresented. Another interesting observation about Egyptian art is that it stayed, virtually, the same from the Old Kingdom into the New Kingdom. This was because they thought what they did was perfect and to change it would change their perfect life and afterlife. This proves that Egyptian art is another aspect of the culture that was greatly influenced by religion.