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.
The Lamassu of the Assyrian kingdom was quite large in size as it guarded the the entrances to the throne room of the Assyrian king. The size of the winged bull with a human head was surely an important part in guarding the gates and instilling fear in all that passed it. It is a relief sculpture of mostly high relief elements as the wings are the only parts that appear to be in low relief. The
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Like the Lamassu, this statue is very large in size. Its proportions, however, are much more realistic and provide a different viewing experience as it is three-dimensional all the way around. It does, however, reveal sunken relief inscriptions around the base of the statue of what appear to be hieroglyphics. Again like the Lamassu, Tuthankhamun wears a headdress as well as a beard. He also wears a collar, kilt, and holds a dagger with representational meaning within the waistband of his kilt. The dagger he wears has the head of a falcon, symbolic for the god Horus, protector of kings. Tuthankhamun’s headdress and double crown point to his royal status and the beard shows his wisdom and ability to lead and rule. The statue’s massive size magnifies King Tuthankhamun’s power and status as a king in ancient Egypt even after death as he is thought to have been one of the most popular kings of ancient Egypt. The statue is seventeen feet tall and the largest statue of ancient Egypt. King Tutankhamun, unlike the Lamassu, was a king and did not stand alone in his sculpture. HIs power is represented in his rulership and size instead of in the symbolism of an object or animal. There are small feet that can be seen behind him on the base of his sculpture which are said to be that of his wife. The statue does not seem to be threatening, although powerful, it merely points to a great ruler of high status to be remembered always and forever worshipped rather than evoke fear of the Egyptian
These two statues are famous to the Egyptian art era. They represent the woman’s position and the man’s position at that day and age. Traditionally, the rulers of Egypt were male. So, when Hatshepsut, Dynasty 18, ca. 1473-1458 B.C., assumed the titles and functions of king she was portrayed in royal male costumes. Such representations were more for a political statement, rather than a reflection of the way she actually looked. In this sculpture, she sits upon a throne and wears the royal kilt and the striped nemes (NEM-iss) headdress with the uraeus (cobra) and is bare chested like a man. However, she does not wear the royal beard, and the proportions of her body are delicate and feminine.
Three dimensional art is defined as media which “occupies space, defined through the dimensions of height, width and depth” (SAYLOR). These art works can be geometric or organic in nature (NORTON). Three dimensional art forms include sculptures, crafts and architecture. Three dimensional art form is fascinating to me because of the amount of realism and beauty it embodies, as well as for its functional and aesthetic value. For this assignment, I chose two beautiful pieces that illustrated the characteristic of three dimensional art and the processes it took to produce them. The first art work I want to analyze is a sculpture done by an Iraqi artist from Kalhu (modern day Nimrud) entitled, “Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions” (Sayre, 420).
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.
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 Egyptians created Ramesses’ statue 1279-1212 B.C. using granodiorite. The statue is currently being exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Its dimensions withouts a base are 59 3/4 x 23 1/2 x 30 inches (seems bigger than life-size). One must look at the statue from various sides in order to see its entirety. Ramesses II, known also as Ramesses the Great, ruled Egypt for over sixty years. there are thousands of statues made in his honor to proclaim his power and divinity.
There are several differences between the sculpture of Menkaure and Khamerernebty, and the sculpture of Akhenaten and Nefertiti.
The statue of Hatshepsut seated down is made with the material limestone. This limestone is lightly colored, which created a larger contrast with the other statues nearby. Her face was carved bringing out her eyes, eyebrows and other facial features. Her eyebrows also come slightly together towards the middle. Her lips forming a slight archaic smile. The dimensions are larger than an average female size. The statue is of great size, yet still in proportion. The body and head fit well with each other overall. However, it is greatly exaggerated in size.
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 pieces of sculpture are both carved using the subtractive method of sculpting from stone. However, the types of stone used were very different. The sculpture of Mycerinus and Kha-merer-nebty II was carved from a stone called greywacke, a dark colored, very hard stone the Egyptians prized for sculpture despite the fact t...
The Assyrian Winged Protective Deity is a very imposing figure. It measures around seven and a half feet tall (Relief of a Winged Genius). This shows the figure's importance, even if the viewer did not know it protected the king from harm. Originally, it was placed next to the throne, which also makes it an important image. The muscles are extremely striking on the figure's arms and legs. The Assyrian Winged Protective Deity is shown in the composite view, so the viewer can see all of the important parts of the figure. The figure appears to be a man, but it has distinct wings coming out of its back. This could show its divinity, or the gods have an influence over this creature.
I learned about many significant artwork and artist in this class. This class provided me with a better understanding of the history of the world Art, but also helped me understand the development of art style. However, among all of these precious pieces of artwork, there are two special ones that caught my attention: The Chinese Qin Terracotta Warriors and The Haniwa. Each of them represents the artist’s stylistic characteristics and cultural context. Although they represented different art of rulers, historical values, and scenes, there were visible similarities.
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
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)
The statue of Khafre is an example of how pharaohs utilized their wealth to elaborate the power they possessed while they were alive and to utilize while they were dead. They ordered statues to be made in their name to decorate the valley temple. The valley temple is a funerary setting in which Khafre ordered 23 statues to be made for it. In this case, Khafre’s statue was made and place near the
It is not sculpted to perfection. It is cut out and it strike the feet of the statue. The feet of the statue are the minglingation of the Kingdoms with intermarriage. In order to have a stronger kingdom, the more people it needs. But the rock strikes at the feet because clay and iron do not mix.