Memi And Sabu Comparison Essay

418 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Comparison essays

This first week’s assignment tasks us to draw some comparisons between two statues from the third century. While created in different periods, it appears upon first glance there may be some similarities.
The two statues for this week’s assignment are The Royal Acquaintances of Memi and Sabu, and the Statue of Gudea. Looking at the Memi and Sabu statue we can immediately discern a few things. First being carved out of stone does provide more depth and connection with the subject than perhaps a flat two dimensional canvas. More detail is seen by a statue in a three dimensional posture. The same is true with the statue of Gudea. Both stone carvings allow the sculptor to emote various characteristics about the subjects and period. Using this …show more content…

The Gudea statue shows us the subject in a seated position. This indicates royalty, strength, leadership and shows him as a ruler. He also has his hands folded which is a traditional gesture of greeting and prayer. This is a man of greatness. Even the inscription on his robe connotes power, “Gudea, the man who built this temple; may his life be long”. I would characterize this as a monument to Gudea for a historical remembrance of great achievements. Viewing the Memi and Sabu, leaves me with a different perspective. I see this more as an intimate look at these two Egyptians. While typically carvings of men from this era were in a striding position which evoked strength, here Memi is draping his arm across her shoulders reciprocating Sabu’s embrace. According to www.metmuseum.org, pair statues like this were commonly placed in a serdab, which is a hidden chamber. The Egyptians believed the deceased spirit could use this statue as a home and allow them to benefit from the gifts of food brought as offerings.
While Gudea appeared to commission this statue as a monument, the Memi and Sabu statue seems more likely to be a preparation for a loving couple’s journey in the afterlife together. Therefore the functions of these statues would appear very different in expectation and

Show More
Related

  • Similarities Between Portrait Of Augustus As General And Khafre Enthroned

    1205 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Kroisos vs Doryphoros

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    The difference between an archaic statue such as Kroisos (fig. 5-11) and a classical statue such as Doryphoros (fig. 5-42) may not seem very great in a single glance. In fact, you may not notice any differences in that one glance. Yet, if you were to look at them closely, you can see that these two statues actually have very little in common.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Research Paper

    343 Words  | 1 Pages

    Both sculptures represent Mary holding the dead body of Jesus. According to our textbook, “This figure group represented a challenge for sculptors, because the body of the adult Christ had to be positioned across his mother’s lap,” (139). Both of the sculptures were created through carving. This is a “subtractive process in which a block of material is cut away to reveal the desired form,” (Carving).

    Read More

  • The Statue of Kouros

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Comparison Essay

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both figures are in a very traditional, standing pose for the time period in which they were created. The sculpture of Augustus is based on the Greek classical statue of the Spear Bearer or Doryphoros by Polykleitos. He is standing in contrapposto, a very classical standing pose wherein the weight of the body is shifted naturally so the figure’s weight is more on one leg, with the other leg slightly bent behind and the hips tilted. Mycerinus and Kha-merer-nebty II are both in the standard Egyptian canon standing pose, in which the figures are rigidly frontal with the pharaoh’s arms down at his sides and fists clenched. Like Augustus, one leg is slightly ahead and one is behind, but there is no contrapposto, the figure’s weight is shared equally by both legs and the hips are squared and level.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Augustus Of Gudea And The Augus Of Primaporta

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    The torso armor that Augustus wears includes many scenes. The statue of Augustus, like many others at the time, is a work used to glorify Augustus. The same can be said for The Votive Stature of Gudea, it was crafted in a way that made Gudea seem like a better ruler than he may have actually been. Both works have great significance in their respective time periods because they are in remembrance of great leaders. While the works may exaggerate the roles each man played, both accomplished many great things for their countries.

    Read More

  • Lansdowne Hermes

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sculpture is a medium that artists in ancient Greek commonly used to express spoken truths in an unspoken form. Every piece of ancient Greek sculpture has more than what the eye sees to explain the story behind the [in this case] marble.

    Read More

  • Man And Centaur Analysis

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • A Brief Glimpse Of Immortality

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    The votive statues were created by worshipers of the ancient Mesopotamian gods. They were crafted out of materials such as limestone, alabaster, gypsum, and other such materials (Votive Statues). These statues were created around 2900 to 2350 BCE at the Square Temple at Eshnunna. The creators of these statues created them in their own likeness to be held at the Square Temple, a place of worship to their gods. It was the worshipers belief that the gods would bless these statues and in turn, bless the creators (Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art, 2004). Worship of the gods was a huge part of the culture of Ancient Mesopotamia, as such these votive statues played a major role in that culture.

    Read More

  • Laozi and Buddha

    1665 Words  | 4 Pages

    I am going to compare two iconic statues from two distinct religions, Buddhism and Daoism. The Buddhist statue I have chosen to examine is the Giant Buddha at Leshan from the Tang Dynasty in China and the Daoist statue being the Laozi Statue from the Song Period in China. Both statues are in China and are large icons, yet intricate differences lie within the details of each statue that reveal major advances and philosophies from their times. Both religious statues have a being associated behind them; Siddharth Gautama being the Buddha from Buddhism and Laozi being the founder of Daoism.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Pair Statue Of Userhat And Karnak Art

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    The posture of the figures is one typically associated with pharaohs and gods where the feet are flat on the ground, legs perfectly bend and lined with the shoulders as well as the arms laying at the side with fists clenched. This posture is used to dissociate the subject from humans and create the illusion of a supernatural being. The facial features of the couple are also sculpted to perfection. The features are symmetrical and make it difficult to distinguish what the couple truly looked like. The statue depicts the two in this way to create this idea that they are of high status much like Ti in the Hippopotamus Hunt relief. In that relief from the Old Kingdom, Ti, who was only an official, portrayed himself in the perfect rigid form of a

    Read More

  • Memi And Sabu Analysis

    427 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Statue of Memi and Sabu was intended for the dead, but the Seated Statue of Gudea was for the living Gudea, as the wish to let his life be long depicted. This means that there are different function between the two statue. While The Statue of Memi and Sabu was intended to provide a vessel for the dead, the Seated Statue of Gudea was to venerate Gudea.

    Read More

  • Egyptian Heretic

    1614 Words  | 4 Pages

    When carving statues, artists drew guidelines on all sides of the uncarved stone, paying close attention to the horizontal and vertical axes (Watts & Girsh 38). Instead of carving statues fully in the round, many artists opted to leave the main figure(s) connected to its base to support its own weight. Shown here (Fig. 4), is an example of the tradition style of figure statuary; the Pharaoh and his wife are stiff and rigid, showing to their people that their legacy will live on, unmoving, throughout the ages. Under the reign of Akhenaten, many of these traditional ________________________ Egyptian artistic values were cast away in favor of those that portrayed the royal family in a jarring, grotesque way.

    Read More

  • Statues and Sculpture: An Art Form that Depicts Human History

    1942 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 2008 a group of archaeologist unearthed what could now be the world’s oldest statue. This larger than life statuette stands at whopping 2 ½ inches tall with an estimated carving date from 35,000 to 40,000 years ago from a mammoth tusk. The form of the statuette is that of female figure missing her head and feet with a primary focus on reproductive organs. Due to the pornographic nature of the statue archaeologist believe that the statue’s purpose and function is to represent longevity and fertility. No matter if you believe man crawled from primordial ooze or if a being of higher authority created man, humans have continued to express emotion, experiences and values through the artistic expression of statues. Over the millennia statues have continued to progress and reflect those human characteristics and values that are reflective of the era they were created. At times they are used to share stories that express victories to tragedies, life and death, religious beliefs, gods and goddesses. One other aspect that humans use statues is to convey values that are important to that society’s social structure. For some statues those human values are shared in a rather large way by reaching new heights and overcoming natural limitations. One might also state that with such a rich history of mankind’s creative appetite for statues it can be difficult to decide which ones to review. That being the case one cannot begin to discuss statues and the human values they represent without starting off with one close to the shores of the United States who expresses liberty for all the huddled masses yearning to be free.

    Read More

  • The Dying Slave Statues

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    This may count as two different objects but this is technically one art piece conveying two different emotions. The statues were created by Michelangelo and were intended to be put into the tomb of Pope Julius II. Both of these statues are unfinished and were donated to the Florentine exile Roberto Strozzi, who then presented these statues to the King of France. These statues were started in 1513 by Michelangelo, but this project was cut short for financial reasons. These statues were to be a part of a 4-part ‘prisoners’ art piece that was unfinished but meant to remain and be only seen within the tomb of Pope Julius II . The statues are approximately 2.09 meters in height, or 6.8 feet if you’re one of the few countries still holding on dearly to the imperial system. These statues were once attached but are now, like many relationships that begin freshman year, no longer clinging together at the hip.

    Read More

More about Memi And Sabu Comparison Essay

Open Document