...For this essay I have chosen two sculptures, each from a different culture that I am very fond of, to compare and contrast. The first piece that I chose is an Egyptian sculpture of royalty (picture on the left). This statue represents an eternal existence reflected in its emotionless calm and enduring serenity. In this statue Menkure and His Chief Queen from the Old Kingdom’s 4th Dynasty are depicted; it is thought to have originally stood on the processional causeway leading to Menkure’s pyramid at Giza. However, the statue was discovered buried with him inside his tomb. “It is believed to have been the first double statue of its kind made.”This sculpture shares all of the conventional qualities common to most Egyptian sculptures of human figures. This type of statue is best viewed from the front or squarely from each side due to its monumentally frozen quality. “Symbolizing the absolute control of the god-ruler, this immobility serves as a visual counterpart of Egyptian belief in immutable laws that govern humans and nature.” This magnificent ancient sculpture can be found in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Egyptian art is truly one of a kind, with its sophisticated beauty and uniqueness. So many cultures have learned and revised the art of the Egyptians; therefore leading me to my next choice; a glorious Greek masterpiece. The next piece I have chosen is of the Greek culture. It is a glorious statue called “Laocoon” also referred to as the “Laocoon Group” shown on the right...
Words: 769 - Pages: 4
...Ancient Art Abstract Ancient art has a way of telling a story of the past, how the people lived, what religious beliefs were followed and a hierarchy if any. Two works of art from the Greek and Egyptian periods dating from the second-century B.C (Aphrodite) and 2420-2389 B.C (Nikare and family) are compared to the styles of the art work and materials used to determine the meaning of the sculptures. The differences and any comparisons are discussed between the two sculptures and how they reflect in the time period in which they were made. Ancient Art Art is the form of sculptures, paintings or architecture and in the Greek and Egyptian art forms, symbolism and content are important to them on how they represent themselves. The sculptures of The Marble Statue of Aphrodite and Nikare and His Family are compared as to how the artists wanted to exhibit their works to the culture of their people. How the sculptures of ancient Greek and Egyptian differ. Form of the Work The Statue of Aphrodite is a three-dimensional sculpture made of marble common to those used in Greece's works of art (Metropolitan, 2012). The sculptor Praxiteles' used marble in most of his work to create the essence of the human body, although he had trouble with three-dimensional pieces always leaning on other forms or in a way as to describe the stance between the artist and his piece (Lapatin, 2012). Praxiteles used the color in the marble to represent his work, in the case of Aphrodite an off white...
Words: 1091 - Pages: 5
...Art 101A, World Art History August 4, 2011 Kleobis and Biton in Comparison with The Venus of Arles Polymedes’ Kleobis and Biton and The Venus of Arles, a marble copy of a sculpture attributed to Praxiteles are both fine representations of their respective time periods in ancient Greek art. Kleobis and Biton are a pair of marble kouroi, c. 590 BCE, 6.15 meters in height, and were sculpted in the Archaic Period of Greek History (700-500 BCE). The kouroi were sculpted in Argos, found in Delphi and are now located in the Delphi Archeological Museum in Greece. Kleobis and Biton tell a story of a heroic act, as relayed by the Greek historian Herodotus. The Venus of Arles, c. 1st Century BCE, is probably a marble copy of a bronze original created by Praxiteles, c. 375 – 340 BCE. It measures 1.9 meters in height. The sculpture is an example of the late Classical Period in Greek history (510-323 BCE). It was found in 1651 CE, in pieces, and was restored by François Giradon. It is now located in the Musée du Louvre, Paris. A comparison of the Kleobis and Biton with The Venus of Arles serves as a visual timeline of one period of ancient Greek art (the Archaic Period) directly following another (the Classical Period). Kleobis and Biton Kleobis and Biton, c. 590 BCE, are based on a heroic story as given by Herodotus. In the legend, Kleobis and Biton were sons of Cydippe, a priestess of Hera. They volunteered to pull a cart of goods meant for a sacrifice up a hill to a temple of Hera...
Words: 1434 - Pages: 6
...Crafted in the early Amarna art style, the bust depicts the Egyptian queen Nefertiti in all her beauty, complete with her long, almost serpentine neck, hooded eyes, and high cheekbones. Her expression is one of dignity and grace, reflecting the meaning of her name, which is roughly translated as "the beautiful one has come" (Egyptian Museum 2014). The bust itself was found in the workshop of the court sculptor Thutmose, and the most agreed upon theory is that it was used by the company of court artists as a prototype for depicting Nefertiti. The use of the bust as a prototype also explains the missing inlay of Nefertiti's left eye due to the master sculptor using the unfinished bust to help teach his pupils how to carve the internal structure of the eye (Bearden 2012, 4). The Bust of Nefertiti was discovered on December 6, 1912 in an authorized dig of Thutmose's workshop led by Ludwig Borchardt of the German Oriental Company. Amidst other unfinished busts of the queen, a portrait head of King Akhenaten, and various other objects, the Bust of Nefertiti was by far the most significant find of the excavation (Egan 2010, 31). Borchardt's personal diary reflects the importance of the bust, writing of its beauty and value: "You cannot describe it with words. You must see it" (Bearden 2012,...
Words: 1969 - Pages: 8
...Three impressive civilizations, from different time periods, have managed to influence each others cultures through the literature works of poetry; from Ancient Egyptian song: “I Am Your Best Girl”, to the glorious Greek love poems of the beautiful Sappho, and the monotheistic Hebrews Song: “I Am the Rose of Sharon.” Over the course of thousands of years, each of these great civilizations had countless views on poetry; all represented inspiration to their own citizens to become successful in life’s endeavors. All forms of literature, art, scripts and artifacts had a wide effect on these societies. By comparing these key examples of poetry, matters of passion for personal integrity, search for eternal love, admiration for greater quality of life and powerful affection towards dear ones, can give us a better understanding towards the emotional and dignifying experiences each culture portrayed. In the first Love Song: “I Am Your Best Girl,” there are many contrasts between the authors theme of powerful affection towards a beloved and the authors self-definition of ones own society. To start, the author sets a personal tone of desire and devotion to ones beloved. She shows ones worth in the first few lines of a simile “I belong to you like an acre of land which I have planted,” here the poet doesn’t mind becoming a part of mans property, she is deeply devoted to him. Nevertheless, it can also bring meaning into a hard days work of maintaining the land and applying that to her...
Words: 2523 - Pages: 11
...Egzona Rexha Chapter 3 There are so many amazing pieces of art in this chapter. It really surprises me the way these pieces are detailed at such an early time period. I love the fact that they are all emperor type pieces, they show off great royalty and are seen that they are really valuable pieces. It’s interesting that antiques like this are still used for the wealthy and powerful today. Egypt has always been one of my most favorite places to visit because of the sculptures and art that I have seen. Looking through this chapter has only interested me more in visiting it someday. One of the most popular, but also my favorite, pieces of this chapter is the death mask of Tutankhamen, from the innermost coffin in his tomb at Thebes, Egypt, 18th dynasty, ca. 1323 BCE. Gold with inlay of semiprecious stones, 1’ 9 1/4’’ high. Egyptian Museum, Cario. (Page 79). The detail in this piece is miraculous. I am in love with the gold and royal blue coloring the way they compliment each other. Truly fit for a pharaoh, the smoothness and cleanliness of this piece is beautiful. The traditional false beard is patterned really interesting with a little rough marks, still holds the value of royalty. My favorite thing about this piece has to be the cobra headdress. I love the how the poisonous snake is positioned on the forehead, to me displaying the power and danger the pharaoh has throughout his role. Another interesting thing I thought was the make up that he is wearing, and the fact that...
Words: 524 - Pages: 3
...Intertextuality Summary Intertextuality is a word coined in 1966 by literary theorist, Julia Kristeva. What she was attempting to shed understanding upon with the development of this term, was the sophisticated and occasionally, hazy, supportive interconnectivity between works of literary art set in various historical periods. More specifically, it was her intent to demonstrate how words, phrases, definitions, and even context set in literary environments, are all related to one another, at varying extents. She set about to show that regardless of what works were created, or by whom, and when, all context, words, and phrases can trace their textual and descriptive lineage back to earlier works and vocabulary and literary prose contained in those works. The relationships between these words are rooted principally in how there are used in a particular work. Synthesis Since the type of works that may be considered for comparison to other works may span the width of time marking different historical eras, with perhaps hundreds of years separating them, it may not always be easy to recognize how one work written in the last ten years is even remotely related to another written even as recently as fifty years before that. However, it can be solidly proven, through all manner of media, from books, to movies, how words and phrases definitely share specific kinships among each other. One such example is a well-known line uttered by the supporting character, Morpheus to the main...
Words: 822 - Pages: 4
...Americans, Jewish, Christian, or any religion in between, each era was a bit different. The comparison and contrast to one another have different aspects to how they perceive the afterlife or what happens before and after death. As time passed, many different religious faiths existed. How each transpired was solely based on the era. In ancient times, there were a variety of religious faiths in existence. However, there were three that stood out from the rest. The first was the Mesopotamian faith (early ancient times), which was of great importance within Mesopotamian culture. For Mesopotamians, the gods were living realities who affected all aspects of life. The center of each Mesopotamian community was the temple complex, which consisted of ziggurat with a temple at the top. It was here that the main god or goddess, in the form of a statue, resided. It would be here that all religious ceremonies took place. This temple complex would dominate both individual and commercial life, thus demonstrating the close relationship between religion and culture within Mesopotamia and the belief that there was an afterlife of immortality. The second was the Egyptian faith. Like the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians held their faith in high regard. They had a vast number of gods, all of which were associated with heavenly bodies and natural forces’. However, there was one period in Egyptian history that only one god was worshiped. It lasted only until the death of the pharaoh who...
Words: 1089 - Pages: 5
...from attack and secured a dominant military position in the region[2]. The combination of three major (Air, Land and Maritime) strike planned by the Israel has resulted the victory for Israeli. Even though the war involved three main elements, this paper will just focus on the air campaign which can be considered as the main factor for the victory of Israel and the failure for the Arabs’ allies. 2. The purpose of this paper is to provide a general brief on the background of the war and will focus more on the air campaign as the decisive factor that lead to the Israel victory. The flow of this paper will start with the genesis of the war which will provide the background of the six days war followed by the comparison of the Order of Battle (ORBAT). The comparison of ORBAT will give the summary of the assets involved and destroyed in the war and its effects on the outcome of the war. Series of the event from the first day of war until the sixth day will be briefly written in the Battle Narrative chapter. The main focus of this paper is the decisive factors that lead to Israel victory which will touch on the campaign planning, air offensive, surprise elements and concentration of force. Towards the end of this paper, the strategic impact of the war on both Israel and Arabs will be highlighted. Paper will be concluded with...
Words: 5080 - Pages: 21
...Comparison 1 The image on the left is of ‘The Parthenon, Acropolis’, a Pantelic marble structure, dating between 447 and 432 BCE, Ancient Greece. The original building on the site was built as an offering in honor of the Greek goddess Athena built in 490 BCE but destroyed in the Persian invasion of 480BCE. However in 447 BCE, Perikles commissioned a much grander and larger temple to be built over the existing foundation. The image to the right is of the ‘Hagia Sophia’, dated between 532-537, Byzantine Period. In a similar way to the Parthenon the Hagia Sophia was built over an existing fourth-century church that had been destroyed during the Nika Revolt in 532. An apparent similarity between both the places of prayer is that they were both aesthetically magnificent and groundbreaking works of art at the time, and are respectively one of the greatest examples of Greek and Byzantine architecture at it’s best. The building of the Parthenon required extraordinary skills of all forms -mathematical, mechanical, architectural, sculptural, and the culmination of this skill resulted in a beautifully harmonious monument. The Hagia Sophia was also planned and developed by the best scholar-theoreticians of the time who managed to...
Words: 1800 - Pages: 8
...The Gateway between Poetry Sappho of Lesbos and Egyptian Love Poems share similarities but also have quite a few differences as well. Their themes and poetic styles in their works of poetry align in some ways, yet differ in others. They both have a sense of eroticism and passion within their works of poetry as well. Love songs or love poems are found in many cultures. Most of the love poems deal with intense emotion and a lust for life. Being able to analyze the roots of their existence can help to understand the context of the poetry all together. When we look at the history of Egyptian love poems they seem to parallel a lot with other near eastern traditions. Writing was quite significant in the Egyptian society as a means to convey cultural...
Words: 1563 - Pages: 7
...perfect physique, from the male athletic body to statues molded in the likeness of Greek gods. In comparison, Indian sculpture captures the ancient Indian ideology of the release from the physical and the emphasis on the spiritual, and sculptures were not only dedicated to the gods, but were worshipped. Ancient Greek and Indian sculptures were such an important part of communicating cultural views of the time that it continues to this day to inspire modern day art. Ancient Indian sculptures can trace its beginnings to the Harappan civilization of the Indus River region (ca.2600-ca.1500) and it is thought they learned to make bronze and metal figures from Mesopotamians. India’s National Museum in New Delhi houses one of the oldest known artifacts, a copper image of a young woman whose features included a wide nose and thick lips, which was the physical traits typical of the Harappans. Her relaxed pose leads us to believe she is a dancing girl and this style would be seen in future Indian sculpture. After the fall of the Harappan culture, Indian art was influenced by the remaining Harappan populous and the Greeks. The Greeks influence Indian art when in 326 B.C.E, Alexander the Great conquered much of northwestern India and the Greek style became popular in India. The Greek style, in turn, was influenced by both the Mycenaean’s and the Egyptians. The most important periods of Ancient Greek sculpture were Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic. ...
Words: 422 - Pages: 2
...Name Suzanna K Kirk Professor Belal Course HUMN 1101 Date 3-14-16 Significance of ancient sculpture and architecture in everyday life Introduction Architecture refers to the process that comprises of planning, designing and construction of buildings and any other project (Encyclopædia Britannica 2). Architectural sculpture, on the other hand, is the term that makes use of the sculpture by either an architect or sculptor. In many occasions, the use of architectural sculpture has been a component for many builders within the history and also almost virtually in each corner of the globe except the pre-colonial Australia (Encyclopædia Britannica 4). This essay will present a description of the sculpture, a relief sculpture, and an architectural design as well as samples of each. Sculpture photo and its description A sculpture is a three dimensional form of artwork that is created from many different mediums, such as stone, rock, marble, metal or wood. Some sculptors may create by carving while others may use a type of assembly process. . I am comparing the above sculpture with the roman sculpture Doryphorus (Spear Bearer)( Sayre, Henry M., and Henry M. Sayre. "Page 63." Discovering the Humanities. Boston: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2013. N. pag. Print.) The two sculptures vary in many ways. Doryphorus is made of marble, while the above sculpture is simply concrete. Doryphorus stands at...
Words: 772 - Pages: 4
...Television 30.1 (Spring 2002) 63-68 In the 1960's American art museums faced another of their cyclical crises of relevance, causing them to reevaluate their role in American society. The dominant paradigm in most traditional art museums was the display of Great Works, aesthetic objects existing outside of time and space for the museumgoer's pure contemplation. Since such works were universal in their artistic appeal, they were expected to reach across barriers of time and space to speak to the patron's sensibilities. The insights of great individual artists enriched the consciousnesses of museumgoers who briefly shed their individual subjectivities to encounter the eternal verities of Beauty and Truth. Outside the walls of the art museum, these eternal verities were in much disarray. The feminist and civil rights movements began publicly questioning whose idea of beauty and whose concept of truth was being articulated. The relevance of historical tableaux and delicate still lifes created for wealthy patrons came into question in an era increasingly aware of social inequities and gender and racial politics. How could the museum maintain its position as the repository of classical Beauty while attracting a population which pondered if black were beautiful or if nudes were sexist? Some museums attracted audiences with the promise of the new. Museums such as the Museum of Modern Art offered new movements of new artists, marketing to a hip audience with a modern...
Words: 4840 - Pages: 20
...ArtH 111 Midterm Study Guide 1. Menkaure & Khamerernebty • Context-religious This is a Ka sculpture. In Egyptian culture, there is the notion that an energy/spirit/soul, the Ka, survived after the actual body expired. Even though there was no longer a body, the Ka would continue to need shelter and sustenance; the Ka would inhabit the mummy to receive offering from family, worshippers, etc. Because mummies were frequently stolen or destroyed, Ka sculptures were made in case the Ka spirit needed a new shelter. The family could ten continue to bring offerings to the Ka. • Style-period This piece is of the Egyptian Old Kingdom style. It is a freestanding piece, but connected by back to the Greywacke block; this is very characteristic of the period style. As for the form, it is also characteristic in the manner that bilateral symmetry prevails, there are harmonious proportions, and how the lines work to keep the human figure compact. It is also characteristic of the Egyptian Old Kingdom style in the manner of how the portrait establishes a standard representation of Kingship and Queenship. They carry themselves as royalty, are wearing distinctive high status clothing (Headdresses, false beard), and the female’s “womanhood” is very apparent (swollen belly, full breasts, pubic triangle). 2. The Apoxyomenos (“The Scraper”) • Materials The Greek original of this piece was a bronze. Unfortunately, like many other pieces of the time, it was melted down. What...
Words: 2346 - Pages: 10
