Human Depictions In Ancient Art

The evolution of Greek art has expanded over hundreds of years and has contributed to many artistic developments, especially in sculpture. The depiction of the human figure has drastically changed overtime from an undeveloped form to a more detailed rendering. This transformation can be seen from Early Bronze Age figurine models to Ancient Hellenistic sculptures. Examples of early figurines are small with disproportionate and unusual bodies while much later sculptures are large scale showing the importance of corrected bodily proportions. Tiny figures generally had the same poses lacking facial and body definition details while later sculptures have exquisite, clear facial features, and deeply chiseled bodies. The developments of sculptors

Greek culture is the source from which many of the characteristic elements of Western culture derive. Their explorations and innovations in art have both fascinated and inspired other civilizations for centuries. For this assignment I chose two Greek sculptures viewed at the Getty Museum. The first is Kouros circa 530 B.C. made of Dolomitic marble from Thasos and is approximately 200 cm (80 in) in height. The second is Cult Statue of a Goddess, (most likely Aphrodite) South Italy, 425 - 400 B.C. made of Limestone and marble. It stands at a height of 220 cm (86 5/8 in). There is some dispute to the authenticity of the Getty Kouros

paintings Nobleman Hunting in the Marshes and Ti Watching a Hippopotamus. All of these art forms are labeled under humanism. In contrast, is the Musicians and and Dancers Egyptian wall painting where there are two women facing forward as well as

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.

Fig. 1 Statue of Yuny and Renenutet, ca. 1290–1270 BCE.; Fig. 2 Akhenaten and his Family,18

Modern figurines of art stem directly from the hands of the ancient’s. The organic forms of modernly sculpted artifacts can most likely be directly referenced to the movements of prehistoric artworks. There seems to be an ongoing transition on how cultures no matter how stretched apart through time, contrasted by ethnicity or religious views; can all be somewhat related to each other by the methods or principles portrayed through their artworks. In fact, I saw that very transition; within two works in which are extremely different in meaning, craftsmanship, time, culture and so on. However, I was still able to find similarities within the artifacts. In this paper I will examine Venus of Willendorf, a Paleolithic carving in limestone; which can fit in the palm of one’s hand. As well as, The Sacrifice of Chacmool, which are a plethora of Mesoamerican statues emulating rituals of sacrifice.

In Anavysos, Greece a statue of a Kouros was discovered dedicated to Kroisos. Kouros statues were male figures also known as “youths” that were erected on graves as a gift for the gods and as a marker for these graves. None of the statues were identical however you could see that the all had the same base image to be formed from. This particular one was in honor of Kroisos who died a very noble death in battle in the front lines so his family erected this statue. This piece is dated circa 530BCE and is 6’ 4” high carved from marble. This

The Eagle-headed Apkallu Guardian Figure is a low relief sculpture from 883-859 B.C. Assyria. Made from gypsum, this sculpture measures approximately 42 1/8 inches tall, 26 inches wide and 1 ½ inches thick. The sculpture is mounted on the wall of the dark, navy-blue painted Antiquities section of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, dimly lit by the luminance of showcase lights. The guardian figure watches over the room as visitors pass through the archway between two exhibits of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. In The Eagle-headed Apkallu Guardian Figure, the artist uses compositional choices, stylistic

Burial mounds were adorned which means made either using clay sculptures in the form of warriors, shamans, animals and birds.

The two sculptures presented for this assignment are the Statue of Gudea, which dates back to 2090 B.C. (“Statue of Gudea,” 2000) and The Royal Acquaintances Memi and Sabu, which dates back to 2575–2465 B.C. (“The Royal Acquaintances Memi and Sabu,” 2000). Both statues represent people; however, they depict different types of people from completely different time periods and cultural backgrounds. The Statue of Gudea shows the ruler of southern Mesopotamian, Gudea, whose reign was from 2144-2124 B.C. (“The votive statue of Gudea: A formal analysis,” 2011) sitting in a praying position with his hands locked and his eyes forward. He is dressed in what appears to be a lavish robe with an inscription that clearly depicts what Gudea thought of himself and his successes during his time as ruler. The Royal Acquaintances Memi and Sabu represent what is thought to be a married ancient Egyptian couple who are lovingly embracing each other. Aside from looking at

The Persians borrowed from other conquered cultures because they lacked strong artistic traditions. Persian architecture was known to include “echoes of Egyptian temple Gates and hypostyle halls, Hittite audience chambers, and Mesopotamian sculpted animal motifs (“Fazio”).” The application of outside cultural influences to Persian architecture signified that Persian architects

‘Statue of Memi and Sabu’, is believed to originate in Egypt during the time of the Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4, 2575–2465 BC (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015). Its function is to receive the soul of the deceased it is likened after and allows the soul to move freely in the burial chamber. “Due to the lack of inscriptions, it has been impossible

The subject of the artwork is Nefertiti, who was the wife of Akhenaten. In addition to being a wife, Nefertiti was also a queen of Egypt. Nefertiti is posed in a very graceful stance. She looks very calm and put together. Due to the curvature of the very elongated neck, the Bust of Nefertiti is poised into a relaxed pose, while maintaining her eternal beauty at the same time. These features are also noticeable when moving the focus towards the eyes, which are slightly closed enough to see her eyelids in addition to her actual eyes. Her eyes are composed into a very natural state; they aren’t widened as if they are portraying a specific facial expression. Her entire face has a peaceful and very naturalistic look. Although often times portraits in Egypt were made to be exaggerated and never depicted what the person actually looked like, this piece

Human being ‘homo sapiens’ have developed so many ways to communicate with each other, art is one of them. Art is the most popular way to let people know about the past. Before human civilization, when people used to live in the cave, people used to use art for hunting, astronomical observatory, solar calendar and cultivating etc. We have seen using of art different way during the time period of Akkadian. Through the deep observation of Akkadian’s art history, we came to know about their political concepts, kingdoms, weapons, outfits, etc. Unfortunately, the specific site of the city Akkad, which was in the vicinity of Babylon, yet to be discovered (Kleiner, Fred S. 2017, p.26). Akkadian empire is one of the most interesting time periods in

The first is a medieval painting, created by the Italian painter Duccio creation, we can see that his paintings are characterized by a typical dark tones, because it is the early Virgin image, painting skills are not too mature, more oil painting Has not been born, cannot be repeated stacking, repeated changes, and thus in the character image of the expressive force is not perfect, it is not a strong light and shadow effect, but on the basis of flat painted slightly darker blooming, so that the face of the Structure and clothing pattern to show the bumps. However, as time goes on, the earlier the icon on the image, the less the effect of three, the basic lines are outlined in the plane, with color is simple and bright. But the phenomenon of rigid expression until the 16th century when the image has not been