The Portrayal of Ancient Rulers
Throughout history, the idea of what a ruler is has evolved. In ancient societies the style of leadership evolved from royal leadership to politically appointed emperors. Inheritance of a throne and kingship subsided after Alexander the Great’s world domination. Instead, leaders came to power through political and military prowess, and if their leadership was unsatisfactory they would usually be overthrown. With the evolution of leadership throughout ancient times, came the evolution of art portraying the rulers of the era. The personality and authority portrayed in portraits, employ different means of expression. In the ancient Egyptian sculpture of King Menkaure and his Queen, a tetradrachm coin of ancient Greece depicting Alexander the Great, and the portrait sculpture of the emperor Philip the Arab from Rome, it is evident that portrayal of ancient rulers in art evolves in accordance with the political climate.
King Menkaure and Queen Khamerenebty ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom in ancient Egypt, circa 2533-2515 BCE. The 4th Dynasty is associated with the Great Pyramids of Giza. The increasing wealth of the ruling families of the period is reflected in their large, elaborate royal portraits. The statue of King Menkaure and his wife, standing 4’8” high, was found in the Valley Temple of the pyramid of Menkaure at Giza. It is a good example of Old Kingdom royal tomb sculpture, although it is the first known work depicting a couple. The pair statue of Menkaure and Khamerenebty exemplifies both dignity and marital affection.
The statue of King Menkaure and his Queen exhibits with clarity the Egyptian devotion of art to a cannon of proportions. Its strictly frontal view point, the rigid poses of the figures, and a faithful accordance to rules and established customs can be interpreted as manifesting the nature of the Pharaoh’s authority over his subjects while at the same time exemplifying the highly regulated, hierarchical structure of ancient Egyptian society. The measured grid of verticals and counterbalancing horizontals, the stiff artificial postures and the overall idealized anatomical shapes of the bodies combined with naturalism is indicative of Egyptian taste for art and a representation of the character of Egyptian culture.
Menkaure’s stance appears assertive, indica...
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...lso in his style of leadership. The accurate reflection of Philip’s true exterior image facilitates the realistic depiction of him as ruler.
In conclusion, the portrayal of ancient rulers is dependent not only on the style of art popular during the era, but also on the evolution of the political climate. The portrayal of Menkaure, a pharaoh of the Old Kingdom in ancient Egypt, is of complete authority, control and power. His face does not show concern or grief over his people, because he is not challenged politically, the image of control coincides with his sole power over the kingdom. While the depiction of Alexander the Great, in ancient Greek coins is deified. Alexander’s leadership ended with world domination; therefore, his deified portrayal on monetary funds is particularly appropriate. By contrast, Philip the Arab’s portrait sculpture almost resembles a present day photograph with its capture of fleeting expression. This expression of anxiety and sadness is a representation of the political turmoil during the time period of his rule. Taking the progress of ancient cultures into account, how does the art of sculpting improve in the manipulation of the medium used?
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.
...nt through the women. The power to rule was passed from wife to husband. Kha-merer-nebty II is shown here presenting her husband, Mycerinus, as the pharaoh. Unlike the sculpture of Augustus, this sculpture also has a religious purpose. The Egyptians believed that in order for the “ka” (spirit) to live forever, the body had to be preserved which is why they mummified their bodies. As an extra precaution, sculptures like these were made to serve as a “replacement body” for the ka should something happen to their body.
I would describe the Mesopotamians ideal of kingship as courageous and a shepherd of the people. The basis of the monarch’s legacy is his arrogance, courage, beauty, and god like self.
Rodney, Walter, A.M Babu, and Vincent Harding. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Washington, D.C.: Howard UP, 1981. Print.
The statue of King Khafre Seated , from the fourth dynasty of the Old Kingdom, 2520 - 2492 BCE, was created by an unknown artist in the smooth permanence of graywacke stone. Although the statue is currently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as number 56 in the Special Egyptian Exhibition, its true home is at the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo. The man being portrayed, King Khafre, ruled Egypt for approximately thirty years, during which he commissioned the single most recognizable monuments of Egypt, the a fore mentioned Pyramids at Giza and the Sphinx. These monuments of symmetry and solidity characterize the focus of popular architecture and sculpture from the Old Kingdom in Egypt.
The artworks of Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, the Aegean cultures, and Ancient Greece have similarities that not only reflect objects and images, but also the media, style and representation. These countries were not always wealthy, clever, creative and powerful enough to gain supplies, but they all find a way to create art with what they had. They have all influenced on each other’s cultures and belief through their artistic values and ways, ranging from the materials and tools they use, position and representation of their monuments and their religious intent.
The use of art forms and sculpture as a means of conveying a message to its viewers has been rooted deep into culture throughout human history. Imagery has carved political views and depictions of society’s circumstances into permanent marks of antiquity. From the Ancient Roman architecture and sculpture to the 1900’s emergence of media in politics, we have continued to express our views, hardships, and culture in permanent ways, and use art as an intricate form of manipulation and persuasion. In the ancient times, the Romans used sculpture to portray individuals of power, such as Augustus, to mark a political ideology by making powerful figures look more pristine and perfect on a godly level. They would portray the unattainable perfection
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 sculpture of the nude man holding the lionesses shows how the revival of Greek trade brought influences of Near Eastern cultures to Greek civilization. The amphora that has the artwork of two separate artist’s shows how wine is an important trade good in Greek culture as well as the use of hoplite armies to obtain more land. The drinking cup also uses its imagery and color patterns to show how during the Archaic Age two Greek city-states battling over land was common, along with their use of well-equipped hoplite soldiers. From these Ancient Greek pieces, it is evident that the values of a culture are entwined with the type of art, which the artist of that culture
Nevertheless, the previous researches were either focused on the role of affordable housing associating with residential stability or educational improvement for children and employment outcomes for the adults (Manturuk, 2012). Others also emphasized that affordable housing could contribute to community-wide economic development, both for troubled and vibrant communities (Lubell et al., 2007). In addition, even the past researches started to examine the impact difference from various categories ownerships versus; however, the subcate...
Here, we will be looking at a rendition of the high marble statue of Augustus Caesar known as “Augustus of Prima Porta.” Originating from 1st Century A.D., it is said that there is a possibility that the original sculpture could have been of greek descent. Upon a general overview of the sculpture, one can see that Augustus fulfils a millitarial role of some kind. From his very stance to the garments portrayed on him, Augustus is draped in a decorative cuirass and a tunic, accompanied by a figure of Cupid clutching on to his right calf. After taking the general themes of the work into account, one can then began to start unraveling the many symbolic elements embedded into the sculpture that allude to godly themes. Starting from the crown of his head, the very chiselment and structure of his face gives the work a youthful element to it, even though some say that Augustus was around 40 years old. A recurring theme within Greek and Roman culture is the matter of godliness and immortality amongst idolized figures themselves. This idea is usually depicted by displaying powerful human being in a younger light. This
A. A. From Alexander to Cleopatra: The Hellenistic World. New York: Michael Grant Publications Ltd, 1982. Jones, Prudence J. Cleopatra: The Last Pharaoh. London: Haus, 2006.
Due to the availability of news and media in today’s technologically advanced society, many people are aware of the violent acts that are committed every day all throughout the world. In addition, the technological advances of today’s society have continued to fuel one of the most successful industries of the present day: the video game industry. Many people have been eager to blame the video game industry for the violent acts that are committed throughout the world because the video game industry has continued to target an audience that seemingly craves an increasing amount of violence, and they criticize the video game industry for its complete lack of restrictions on the sale of violent video games to teenagers. However, although some experts believe that playing violent video games may perpetuate a violent disposition in a teenager, it has been demonstrated that
During the ancient times in Greece, Plato was the first human to document and criticize the existence of art and artists. He mentioned that human art was always in a form of a representation of something else. In one of Plato’s famous works, he demonstrates the idea of art is like an “imitation of nature” (Blocker 3). In other words, the purpose of art was to represent nature and nothing else. Art was not created for the sake of its own self nor was it created to appreciate its own beauty by any means. Instead, art, usually in forms of writings, paintings, or sculptures, was created to only to represent nature, Gods, emperors, families, or other important individuals. Furthermore, Plato had a very critical view towards the existence art in our society because art makes us more emotional, and our emotions lead to many errors about life. He believed it is our rational thinking, not our emotions or senses, which helps us und...