The Human Figure in Art
Student Name
University
The human figure in art, sculpture and other art forms involves the study and appreciation of the beauty of the human body (Human figure (aesthetics) , 2013). It can involve the body shape, including different postures, such as sitting, standing, sleeping, or even while in motion, walking or running. I think that the human figure is one of the most interesting and beautiful to look at, and it absolutely amazing to look at how much the human figure in art has changed over time. Different cultures believed that the human body was beautiful in different ways. Some show humans in the art as perfect and almost God like, while others show them in a more realistic form. Another amazing part about the human figure is not only are we observing the way a body looks, but also we are feeling the emotions that these characters are portraying. This is what makes human figure so fascinating. In the following essay I will be selecting fifteen examples of the human body in art.

One of the oldest sculptures discovered to date, was carved using simple stone tools. It is a tiny limestone figurine of a woman named the Venus of Willendorf. This sculpture was named after its find spot in Willendorf Austria. It is said that the Venus of Willendorf was made anywhere between 28,000 and 25,000 BCE, and the artist is unknown. The sculpture is tiny, and features anatomical exaggeration. It typifies Paleolithic representations of women, whose childbearing capabilities ensuring the survival of the species. Women were far more common subjects then men in sculptures, however, animals not humans, dominate Paleolithic art. During this time period, humans were not painted or sculpted to look realistic.
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(Venus of Willendorf)

The Snake Goddess was found in the palace of Knossos and was created around 1600 BCE by an unknown artist. It is measured at about one foot and an inch and a half tall. The Snake Goddess is one of several similar figurines that some scholars believe may represent mortal attendances rather than deities. This Minoan figurine may represent a priestess, but it is more likely a bare-breasted goddess. The snakes in her hands and the leopard like feline on her head imply that she may have had power over the animal world.
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(Snake Goddess)

On Livia’s (Augustus’s wife) birthday in 9 BCE, Augustus dedicated the Ara Pacis Augustae, the monument celebrating his most important achievement, the establishment of peace. The Ara Pacis Augustae is located in Rome, Italy, and was created with marble between 13-9 BCE. Four panels on the east and west ends of the Ara Pacis depict carefully selected mythical subjects. There is a procession of the imperial family located on the south frieze, which shows the human figures. This so far is the most realistic of the human figure. However, there is not much emotion to be felt from this piece of art.
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(Ara Pacis Augustae)

Mosaics became a major vehicle for the depiction of Christian themes in the naves and apses of churches, which closely resembled Roman basilicas in both plan and elevation. On one of the walls below the Daphni dome, an unknown artist depicted Christ’s Crucifixion; this piece of art was on a mosaic and created between 1090-1100. The Daphni Crucifixion is a subtle blend of Hellenistic style and the more abstract Byzantine manner. The Virgin Mary and Saint John point to Christ on the cross as it to a devotional object. Here, Christ looks limp and hopeless; here he is the human figure that is being portrayed.

[pic] (Crucifixion)

In our textbook, there are hardly any examples of human figures in Chapter 5, the Islamic world – however I did my own research and found that human figures were infact used. One of the most common misconceptions about the art of the Islamic World is that it is aniconic; meaning that the art does not include representations of humans or animals. The book make me agree with that theory if I didn’t perform my own research on the topic. “While many of the religious art and architecture does not include animals or humans, private residences of sovereigns were filled with vast figurative paintings, mosaics, and sculpture (Arts of the Islamic World ). I did, however find a manuscript page that depicts human figures. The painting Seduction of Yusuf by Bihzad was made in 1488 with ink and color or paper and measures at about twelve by 9 inches. This painting displays vivid color, intricate decorative detailing, and a balance between pattern and perspective. The human figure here is very unrealistic, and very two dimensional.
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(Bihzad)

In 1001, when Bishop Bernward was in Rome, he resided in Otto III’s palace on the Aventine hill in the neighborhood of Santa Sabina, an Early Christian church renowned for its carved wooden doors. The doors were decorated with episodes from both the New and the Old Testament (Genesis was the left door, and the life of Christ was the right door). Bernward’s Doors were made from Bronze and stand at sixteen feet 6 inches tall. The doors vividly tell the story of Original Sin and Redemption, and draw parallels between the Old and New Testament, pairing the expulsion from Paradise and the infancy and suffering of Christ. There are panels that depict Adam and Eve, and Mary with Christ Child in her lap. Every single panel has atleast one example of human figures.
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(Bernward's Doors)

Statues of the Old Testament kings and queens decorate the jambs flanking each doorway of the Royal Portal in the Chartres Cathedral in France. These staues were created around 1145-1155. These statues stand upright with their elbows held close against their hips. The linear folds of their garments – inherited from the Romanesque style along with the elongated proportions – generally echo the vertical lines of columns behind them. The sculptors conceived and treated the statues as three-dimensional volumes, not reliefs and they stand out from the plane of the wall. The biblical kings and queens of the Royal Portal are the royal ancestors of Christ. These Early Gothic statue-columns display the first signs of a new naturalism in European sculpture. But again, the human figure does not show much emotion, all four figures are staring and have no signs of emotion. Unfortunately, it is unknown as to whom the sculptors were who created this work of art.
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(Old Testament Kings and Queens, Jamb Statues)

Tilman Riemenschneider was known for his carved wooden retables (altarpieces), they were popular commissions for German churches. The Assumption of the Virgin was the central panel of the Creglingen Altarpiece, a parish church in Germany. This piece of art was carved from Lindenwood and is six feet one inch wide. This work was created during 1495-1499. Riemenschneider was considered one of the greatest sculptors of the late middle ages. He spend most of his career in the Gernam citz of Wurzburg. “From the beginning of his career, Riemenschneider demonstrated his proficiency in a variety of media, sculpting limewood, alabaster, sandstone, and marble with equal facility. Although many of his works were painted and gilded, he was one of the first sculptors to forgo the application of color, producing monochrome works” (Tilman Riemenschneider: Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages). His works feature intricate Gothic tracery and religious figures whose bodies are almost lost within their swirling garments. In this particular piece, Riemenschneider portrays emotions very well, this is the first architectural scupture of art where we can see the emotion in the characters faces.
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(Riemenschneider)

Michelangelo Buonarroti was one of the most famous Italian artists of all time. He considered himself a sculptor, but is equally well known for his paintings. He was also an architecht and an amatueur poet (Esaak). David, was one his most famous sculptures. David was created between 1501-1504 in Florence, Italy. David is made from marble and stands about seventeen feet high. In this colossal statue, Michelangelo represented David in heroic, classical nudity, capturing the tension of Lysippan athletes and the emotionalism of Hellenistic statuary. The anatomy of David’s body plays a huge role – his rugged torso, sturdy limbs, and large hands and feet alert the viewers of the strength to come. His swelling veins and tightening sinews amplify the psychological energy of his pose.
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(Buonarroti)

“Gianlorenzo Bernini dominated the Roman art world of the seventeenth century” (Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680) ). He first trained with his father Pietro in a Roman workshop, they assisted with sculptures. The marble sculpture Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is absolutely breathtaking. It was created in Rome between 1645-1652 and stands at eleven feet six inches tall. This sculpture serves as the chapel’s focus. Saint Teresa is depicted as one of the great mystical sains of the Spanish Counter-Reformation. In this sculpture, there is so much emotion in both characters faces. This could be from the knowledge Bernini had of theatre.
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(Bernini)

John Singleton Copley was an American painter born in Boston, Massachusetts. He is mostly famlous for his portrait paintings of important figures in colonial New England, depicting middle-class subjects. (John Singleton Copley: The Complete Works). His large (over 2 feet on each side) oil on canvas painting, Portrait of Paul Revere was painted in 1768-1770 in Boston. When Copley painted his portrait, Revere was not yet the familiar hero of the American Revolution, when this picture was taken he was still silversmithing. Copley’s Pail Revere emphasizes his subject’s down-to-earth character, differentiating this American work from it’s British counterparts. The informality and the sense of the moment link this painting to English and French portraits.
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(Copley)

Ferninand Victor Eugene Delacroix (otherwise known as Eugene Delacroix) was one of the most important French Romantic painters. His use of expressive brushstrokes and his study of the optical effects of colour profoundly shaped his work, while his passion for the exotic inspired the artists of the Symbolist movement (Eugene Delacroix: The Complete Works). One of his famous paintings, Liberty Leading the People (oil on canvas) is a huge 9 foot by 11 foot painting which was created in Paris. This painting is based on the Parisan upbringing against Charles X. It depicts the allegorical personification of Liberty, defiantly thrusting forth the French Republic’s tricolor banner as she urges the masses to fight on. Delacroix was able to capture the passion and energy of the 1830 revolution in this painting. Lady Liberty looks strong, brave and fierce in a group full of men with deadly weapons.
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(Delacroix)

Mary Stevenson Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker. She lived a majority of her adult life in France. She often created images of the social and private lives of women, in particular, she emphasized on the intimate bonds between mothers and their children (Mary Cassatt: The Complete Works). One painting that comes to mind when speaking of bonds between mothers and children is The Bath, which is an oil on canvas painting, appoximately three feet by two feet, created in 1892. The Bath shows the tender relationship between a mother and her child. The child is sitting on her mother’s lap, as her mother is washing her daughters feet. The body language from both characters seems very relaxed. Just from looking at this painting, I can feel the mothers love and compassion for her daughter.

(Cassatt)

Max Beckmann was one of the most important German painters of the 20th century. “He was initially influenced by traditional styles but during World War I he rejected perspective and classical proportion in favor of a more expressive objective art” (Max Beckmann (German, 1884–1950) ). Beckmann’s oil on canvas painting Night created in 1918-1919 and measuring about four feet four inches and five feet is a fascinating piece. It remings me of a modern piece of art. Beckmann’s treatment of forms and space in Night matched his view of the brutality of early 20th century society. Objects are dislocated and contorted, and the space is buckled and illogical. There are so many different emotions in this painting, I can only imagine the face of the woman who is bound and apparenty raped right in the foreground of the painting. You can almost feel the pain of the man getting his arm twisted out of its socket. It’s amazing to see the direction Beckmann was going while painting his human figures, art years before this was beginning to look more and more realistic, in this painting, the people do not look realistic at all.
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(Beckmann)

Chuck Close was born in Monroe, Washington. He suffered from severe dyslexia but found solace in making art. After earning his MFA from Yale, he began creating large-scale, photo-realist portraits that have creatively blurred the distinction between photography and painting (Chuck Close). Close’s goal was to translate photographic information into painted information. In his portraits, he deliberately avoided creative compositions, flattering lighting effects, and revealing facial expressions. His portrait Big Self-Portrait was created in 1967-1968 and is acrylic on canvas and measures at a whopping nine by seven feet. In this painting the man (himself) looks scruffy, and dirty, and is smoking a cigarette. This would make sense considering he didn’t want his photos to be flattering. This is about as lifelike as the human figure could possibly get without living or breathing.
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(Close)

References

Ara Pacis Augustae. Rome.
Arts of the Islamic World . (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2013, from Khan Academy: http://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history/art-history-400-1300-medieval---byzantine-eras/islamic-art/a/arts-of-the-islamic-world
Beckmann, M. Night. Dusseldorf.
Bernini, G. Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome.
Bernward's Doors. Dom-Museum, Hildesheim.
Bihzad. Seduction of Yusuf. National Library, Cairo.
Buonarroti, M. David. Piazza della Signoria, Florence.
Cassatt, M. The Bath. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.
Chuck Close. (n.d.). Retrieved October 19, 2013, from Biography: http://www.biography.com/people/chuck-close-9251491
Close, C. Big Self-Portrait. Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.
Copley, J. S. Portrait of Paul Revere. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston.
Crucifixion. Church of the Dormition, Daphni.
Delacroix, E. Liberty Leading the People. Louvre.
Esaak, S. (n.d.). Michelangelo Buonarroti . Retrieved October 17, 2013, from Art History: http://arthistory.about.com/cs/namesmm/a/michelangelo.htm
Eugene Delacroix: The Complete Works. (n.d.). Retrieved October 19, 2013, from Eugene Delacroix: http://www.eugenedelacroix.org
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680) . (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2013, from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bern/hd_bern.htm
Human figure (aesthetics) . (2013, August 30). Retrieved October 15, 2013, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_figure_(aesthetics)
John Singleton Copley: The Complete Works. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2013, from John Singleton Copley: http://www.johnsingletoncopley.org
Mary Cassatt: The Complete Works. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2013, from Mary Cassatt: http://www.marycassatt.org
Max Beckmann (German, 1884–1950) . (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2013, from Museum of Modern Art: http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=429
Old Testament Kings and Queens, Jamb Statues. Chartres Cathedral, Chartres.
Riemenschneider, T. Assumption of the Virgin. Creglingen Altarpiece, Creglingen.
Snake Goddess. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion.
Tilman Riemenschneider: Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17 2013, from National Gallery of Art: http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/tilmanintro.htm
Venus of Willendorf. Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna.