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Covenants in the old testament
Covenants in the old testament
Covenants in the old testament
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Throughout history, people have created artwork to serve religious purposes. Archaeologists discovered pieces dating back centuries that may have a theological connotation, including the Statues of Votive Figures from the Square Temple at Eshnunna. During 2700 B.C.E., the Sumerians crafted this piece using gypsum inlaid with shell and black limestone. Ancient Sumer had a governmental structure similar to other nation-states in that period, containing covenant forms of “binding” a person to God or to other humans. In addition, this people group practiced their own religion, involving numerous gods, including Anu, god of the sky, and Uruk, chief deity. There are several temples and artifacts dedicated to these gods, considering religion is a major component of Sumerian culture, as well as art and literature. …show more content…
Chemically known as “calcium sulfate dihydrate,” this complex material is found throughout the world and can be utilized in many different ways. It has been used in decoration and construction as far back as ancient Egypt, and in this specific work, gypsum is the main component. In addition to material, the Statues of Votive Figures uses unique elements of art, including line. The various forms of line throughout the work add texture and make the two pieces more cohesive. Each line is meticulously carved, allowing the audience to see the detail in the hair as well as the clothes. Lastly, the use of proportion is prevalent in these pieces. The bodies of the “votive figures” are uniquely formed, containing large eyes and small hands, which alter human proportions significantly. Although the sizes of the figures differ, the motifs and specific components within each work make the statues
Since people feared pharaohs, they respected them. For instance, the passage in Document 5 states that wokers built large pyramids to serve their pharaohs inside tombs. The text states, "Pharaohs were burried with their possessions." In addition, some people (Sumerians Akkadians) practiced polytheism, the worship of gods. Based on the document, "They believed that keeping the gods happy was the key to their own happiness and prosperity. On the other hand, if the gods were angry, they might bring suffering and disaster." In additon, previously stated, Egypt and Mesopotamia develoved into successful civilizations by effectively using the resources that surrounded them to solve problems and live happily. The text states, "Sumerians built huge temples called ziggurats. They believed these temples linked Earth with the heavens and linked people with the gods." This shows that they use dtheir resources to build ziggurats for their own goods so that the gods can give them happiness and prosperity instead of bringing them suffering and disaster. Therefore, Egyptians' religion and beliefs would help develop Egypt and Mesopotamia into successful
The Victory Stele of Naram-Sin is a vertical stone marker, referred to as a stele, that depicts the military triumph of Naram-Sin and his army over the Lullubi people from the city-state of Sumer in eastern Mesopotamia. This stele, an artifact I find most intriguing due to its dynamic symbolism and compelling story-telling, elaborately details not only one of Naram-Sin 's greatest military victories but displays, what I believe to be, Naram-Sin as a divine-like being, suggesting a change in the religious ideas of the Ancient Near East era. As the text in Art and Culture: An Introduction to the Humanities explains, rulers of this time period we not viewed as gods, but as an “intermediary between the god and the people,” yet this artifact gives the impression of quite the opposite. The symbolism suggesting the alteration in religious ideas is profoundly depicted throughout every detail of this artifact, not only through its focal point, Naram-Sin, but among the minute details of the accompanying figures and the overall composition of this artwork.
The medium is Granodiorite and the technique used was sunken relief, which is a technique were the sculptor chisels deep outlines below the stone’s surface. The sculpture does not seem to be originally painted. The Egyptians created coloristic effects through contrasting shadows and highlights. They used natural pigments to color some sculptures, however this was not the case. There are deeply cut areas in the back of the statue that create deep shadows and the use of natural light helps to bring up the highlights. The granodiorite has natural colors that helped the sculptor show more of those shadows and highlights. The statue is mostly in a warm hue and it may be caused because of the lighting inside the museum. These warm colors make the details stand out more. At a closer look of the structure there are different colors that can be easily identified, such as white, yellow, brown, black, gray and small spots of orange. The statues seems to be carved in one piece. There are no signs indicating it
The exhibition of recent stoneware vessels by Peter Voulkos at Frank Lloyd Gallery featured the sort of work on which the artist established reputation in the 1950s. The work was greeted with stunned amazement. However now it is too, but it's amazement of a different order -- the kind that comes from being in the presence of effortless artistic mastery. These astonishing vessels are truly amaising. Every ceramic artist knows that what goes into a kiln looks very different from what comes out, and although what comes out can be controlled to varying degrees, it's never certain. Uncertainty feels actively courted in Voulkos' vessels, and this embrace of chance gives them a surprisingly contradictory sense of ease. Critical to the emergence of a significant art scene in Los Angeles in the second half of the 1950s, the 75-year-old artist has lived in Northern California since 1959 and this was his only second solo show in an L.A gallery in 30 years.”These days, L.A. is recognized as a center for the production of contemporary art. But in the 1950s, the scene was slim -- few galleries and fewer museums. Despite the obscurity, a handful of solitary and determined artists broke ground here, stretching the inflexible definitions of what constitutes painting, sculpture and other media. Among these avant-gardists was Peter Voulkos.” In 1954, Voulkos was hired as chairman of the fledgling ceramics department at the L.A. County Art Institute, now Otis College of Art and Design, and during the five years that followed, he led what came to be known as the "Clay Revolution." Students like John Mason, Paul Soldner, Ken Price and Billy Al Bengston, all of whom went on to become respected artists, were among his foot soldiers in the battle to free clay from its handicraft associations.
The Statue of a kouros represents a Greek male. With one foot forward, the statue at the same time, represents movement and is able to stand on it own. This also gives the over life size figure, visible weight. In this early figure, geometric forms seem to predominate, and anatomical details, such as the chest muscles and pelvic arch, are presented with somewhat of exaggerated lines. Although the exaggerated lines show where these muscles belong, the detail is still missing. Looking up and down this nude body, at this miss proportioned and lacking of detail body, the hair is what grabs my attention. The hair is carved with detail not noticeable in the rest of the body. As well, although the fists are clinched and still bonded to the body, the legs and elbows are separated. The ability to move around and inspect the statue makes a big difference than if it was up against a wall, or just looking at its picture. The legs, which support the weight of the statue, have a visible strength which is seen in the knees. The head is what carried the most detail, the ears although to far back, are intricately designed. It is the ability to walk around the entire statue that allows me to see the different aspects and places where attention to detail was placed. However, he does not expand into three dimensional space; he has a closed-off, column-like appearance
...ve been a part of a votive set indicates that it most likely had great significance to the culture and person who owned it. I find it interesting that the sculpture itself depicts a Greek mythological creature even though it has the inscription of an Etruscan god. Perhaps it is a sign of the influence the Greeks had on Etruscan artwork as a whole. The detail of this sculpture suggests it was most likely quite expensive especially if it was in a set. Perhaps nobility of some sort or simply a wealthy commissioner had this piece made.
In 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. The Votive Statue of Gudea and the Augustus of Primaporta have similar formal elements through their subjects and differ through their styles and size. The Votive Statue of Gudea is a statue of Gudea, a ruler in the Ancient Near East.
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.
challenging it is to work with the material. This statue is one of the 27 various statues found depicting the ensi, or
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)
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.
From the Paleolithic aura to this present day the functions of funerary art have provided the basic outlets for coming to terms with death. Funerary art is posed to bare the function of the disposal of the body; express a culture’s belief in the afterlife; the care or fear of the deceased; a part of the mourning process; the status of the individual and their family; a step to forgetting and that for the most part is for the living. Sculpture plays a predominant role in funerary art and is a common feature amongst all the functions in both western and nonwestern cultures. Funerary art lends to the visceral qualities of sculpture to assist in projecting the functions for those dealing with death.
People of the ancient world often had questions about their existence and how life and people came to be on earth. Most ancient people answered these questions through religion. The Sumerians were the first important group of people to inhabit Mesopotamia and they were known to practice a form of worship called polytheism, which is the worship of several gods. Mesopotamians associated different gods with natural events, emotions, and other occurrences. Their main deities included An (the god of the heavens), Enlil (Lord Storm), Enki (god of wisdom), and Nihursaga (the mother of all living things)(p.22). The Mesopotamians believed that the gods controlled all of the events and occurrences in life. An ancient text called “Creation of Man by the Mother Goddess” (p.34) helps us understand how the M...
...des us with a glimpse into the ancient culture using beautiful and detailed designs. The art form has been sustained in fired clay for thousands of years indiscriminately telling its story to the world and to history.
Sculpting is the art of working with stone, bronze, and wood by chipping at it to form a beautiful piece of art. The art of sculpting was known thousands of years ago in the time of “THE OLD STONE AGE.” During this time the people thought that they would make the sculptures to praise their gods, kings, queens, and goddesses. The people also made sculptures of animals they believed that the animals would see this and protect them from other harmful animals.