ART 175

Hall of Bulls 16,000-14,000 BCE Mineral Pigment on rock wall Paleolithic France

Although it might be tempting to do so, we can't really project our own narratives on Paleolithic pictorial art. We may like to think of this composition as representing a herd of bulls running together, for example, and yet the bulls were painted at different times, which also accounts for the distinctly different ways of rendering that we see in the animals - some in outline form, and others as completely filled in silhouettes. Thus, it's entirely possible that these bulls weren't meant to be read together at all. The pigment used for these paintings typically came in earth tones, and were made from locally accessible minerals, such as ochres. They were probably applied to the wall surface with sticks, or blown through hollowed out bones. may have had ritual function

Lapith versus centaur metope 447-438 BCE Marble Classical Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece

As we move inward toward the temple chamber itself, we find other surfaces on the Parthenon also decorated with programs of relief sculpture, beneath the level of the pediment, a frieze ran around the perimeter of the temple, carrying scenes of battle like the one seen here, fought between the Lapiths, and the centaurs.

Riace warrior 460-450 BCE Bronze with silver and copper inlay Classical Greece

Bronze began to allow for the fashioning of large scale statues that could really demonstrate a much wider range of movement than was possible in marble, while still being a material that was at least as durable as the rock Human anatomy now is more pronounced, more fully modeled, and that sense of movement more heavily declared. The contrapposto stance appears forcefully, with the figure's left knee bending and the right hip and shoulder raising up embellishments of varying consistency: eyes inlaid with glass, copper used for features like eyelashes, lips and nipples, along with teeth made out of silver, all efforts to generate the contrasting textures, the kind of variety, found on an actual human being.

Palace at Knossos 1700-1350 BCE stone, clay, wood Minoan Crete, Greece

Civilization is called Minoan now because, in later Greek mythology, it was said that Crete was ruled by a king named Minos, and was further the setting for stories like that of Theseus and the Minotaur. The palace complex did wield a healthy visual record of paintings, sculptures and potteries, from which we can begin to construct an understanding of the practices and belief systems of ancient Minoan society.

Kritios Boy 480 BCE Marble Early Classical Greece

Compared to the Archaic kouros, for instance, made about 100 years before this sculpture, the anatomy of the Kritios Boy has been significantly fleshed out then an interest in indicating musculature, but that approach was still pretty schematic, mainly made up of simple lines, on the flat surface of the torso. In the Kritios Boy, the artist has expanded the rounded forms of muscles, through which he is able to build pronounced volume, in the chest and abdomen. But even more importantly, the figure has been kind of freed, subtly, from its previously frozen, block-like posture: there is a slight turn of the head, in this case, and what's more, the figure is not standing rigidly, or evenly This posture of uneven weight distribution, used to more naturally convey the mechanics of the human body, is a technique we call contrapposto, describing an artist's awareness of this shift, and which speaks again to the concern now for how the sculpted body reacts and behaves.

Panathenaic procession 447-438 BCE Marble Classical Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece

Continuing through the Parthenon, just outside the main chamber itself, there was another frieze of relief imagery, this one a single continuous narrative running all the way around the structure, and made up of the repeating forms of people. narrative of the event was part of a festival that took place every four years on Athena's birthday, when the entire city was invited to participate in presenting the Athena temple statue with a new peplos garment which in real life would also have been a line very much like this, of people and horses proceeding around the temple. There seems even to be some attempt to capture the varying degrees of energy at different times of the pageant, shown as speeding up or slowing down. the focus of a narrative like this is some indication of the importance that the Athenians placed not only on their goddess, but also on themselves, as part of the perception that they were at the center of civilized man, so much so that on this monumental temple dedicated to their patron deity, they saw fit to illustrate their own activities, and to include portrayals of themselves

Ishtar Gate (reconstructed) 575 BCE Glazed Brick Neo Babylonian Walls of Babylon, Iraq

Dedicated to Ishtar the Babylonian incarnation of Inanna, fertility goddess, bright pop of blue made it distinct from other structures- symbolic and literal frame emphasizing and aggrandizing the people it presented as being elevated above the mundane and commonplace.

Warka Vase 3200-3000 BCE Alabaster Sumerian Warka, Iraq

Depects processional offering to goddess named Inanna, promiendent fertility goddess

Lamassu 720-705 BCE Limestone Assyrian Northern Iraq

Divine and mythical creature, combined winged bulls body with human head, horned crown confirms divine source

Senusret III 1860 BCE Quartzite Middle Kingdom Egypt

Egypt was caught up in continuing campaigns to conquer the land of the Nubian people, further south along the Nile, and control over the region proved difficult to maintain. So there was a certain amount of instability still, and perhaps lingering anxiety in the kingdom, and, faced with these new social realities, Senusret's pharaonic imagery took a new approach, one which seems to have been unprecedented in its willingness to reflect this mood of uncertainty. there is a new naturalism of expression we can say, which has no precursor in earlier pharaonic portraits. Senusret's face evokes emotion, expressing even of a kind of concern. The expression is heavy-lidded, differing from the eternally wide-eyed gaze of pharaohs past, and includes aspects like crease lines at the corners of the mouth and the edges of the eyebrows, along with a kind of sagging of skin beneath the eyes, all of this where we would normally have had the frozen and smooth surface

Votive figures 2700 BCE Limestone, gypsum and shell Sumerian Tell Asmar, Iraq

Figures made in dedication to a higher power,offered in the hopes of granted a favor/blessing - sizes demonstrated hierarchy

Last judgement of Hunefer, from the Book of the Dead 1300-1290 BCE Pigment on papyrus New Kingdom Egypt

From the New Kingdom there are also extensive examples of pictorial art in the form of paintings on papyrus scrolls. Many of these depict scenes from collected writings known as the Book of the Dead, various texts that described things like spells and prayers, which could help the deceased through the procedures of the afterlife by detailing the process after death. The image here comes from one such painting, and is referred to as the last judgment of Hunefer, because it was found in the tomb of a royal scribe by that name, and seems to describe his journey. The particular scene from Hunefer's scroll illustrated here is the final judgment of his soul before Osiris, the Egyptian god of the underworld, seated to the right, on his throne In its style we can see that this image, painted not long after the end of the Amarna interlude, marks an almost immediate return in Egyptian pictorial art to the rigidity and formality that came before, with no more of the kind of fluid and curvilinear line that appeared during that unique interruption.

Hatsheput with offering jars 1473-1458 BCE Granite New Kingdom Egypt

Images of Hatshepsut represent a remarkable episode in ancient Egyptian art because they portray the most successful and longest reigning female pharaoh who was indigenously Egyptian, and who rose to power after her husband died, when her son was deemed too young to rule. he unbending alignment of limbs, and the same assertive stride as introduced in similar figures of pharaohs past, such as the portrait of Menkaure seen earlier in this module. And in her attire as well, she continues to don the standard accoutrements of the male pharaoh - the headdress and man's skirt - rather than the full-length dresses worn by women, the likes of which we saw on Menkaure's wife. Her attire and accoutrement comes complete with ceremonial beard, a symbol of power, but one that was naturally based originally in the ruler's masculinit There are more feminine depictions of the ruler as well, though, so we see that the artisans during Hatshepsut's reign walked a kind of iconographic tightrope, attempting to reconcile the pharaoh's gender with her standard claim to a legitimate rule atshepsut's imagery encapsulates a carefully combined message - although a woman is now ruling, she evinces very fully the capabilities and power of men.

Ruins of Persepolis 521-465 BCE Brick and Stone Persian Persepolis, Iran

Largest and most robust of its time

Ziggurat of Uruk 3200-3000 BCE Brick Sumerian Warka, Iraq

Mesopotamian civilization developed these unique forms of architecture through which they attempted to commune w/ their gods

Victory stele of Naram-Sin 2254-2218 BCE Pink sandstone Akkadian Iraq

Naram sin's army is shown proceeding upwards in an orderly fashion while his enemies are depicted as dying. Pictured at top, long beard, right side of body, stars above head, as well as horned cap suggests power, military victor & linage to gods

Geometric krater 740 BCE Terracotta Geometric Greece

Narative: center, a figure lies horizontally on a platform, with a checkboard pattern, above. This seems to be a representation of the deceased, under a funeral shroud covering body. Others figures are suggested in a state of grief, appears to depict a mourning for the dead. Geometric style, because it relied heavily on the use of abstract patterning in mostly rectilinear forms for its decoration weren't made for utilitarian purposes. appear to be funerary in their nature, something like the palette of Narmer we discussed in the art of Egypt, a special version of an everyday good. Vessels painted in this way were often used as grave markers, many of them remain open on the bottom, making clear that they were not made for their traditional use

Head of an Akkadian Ruler 2250-2200 BCE Copper Akkadian Nineveh, Iraq

One instance or the Akkadian tradition of making monumental objects to commemorate the ruler. The damage done to beard / statue was a way to visually declare the end of previous domination.

Parthenon 447-438 BCE Marble and limestone Classical Acropolis, Athens, Greece

One of the most well known sites to contain extensive examples of Classical Greek sculpture is the Acropolis in Athens, a plateau in the city on which were built some of Athens's most important temples, and other structures. Parthenon housed a monumental statue of Athena herself. This statue has not survived, but 40 feet high and covered in ivory and gold - ritually cared for

Polyphemus amphora 675-650 BCE Terracotta Orientalizing Greece

Orientalizing style: reflects influence from the nearby civilizations of the Near East, and Egypt ---seen in popular motifs like fierce beasts, seen here in boars and lions in the middle of the vase, ferocious animals were common in Mesopotamian & Egyptian art on its belly a depiction of the Gorgon sisters, the snake-haired women of Greek mythology, the upper panel relates the story in which Odysseus and his men encounter a cyclops during their journey home from the Trojan War. Polyphemus is shown seated to the right of the scene, and the men drive a stake into his eye to blind him, so that they can escape more focus on human form, adventure and experience while still using old shape technique

Cylinder Seal and Impression 2600-2400 BCE Lapis lazuli Sumerian Tell Muqayyer, Iraq

Seals seem to have been essentially markers of identity, this one was on a Noble woman's tombstone, proof of new wealth being ushered in by increasingly settle/ stable society

Ziggurat of Ur 3200-3000 BCE Brick Sumerian Tell Muqayyer, Iraq

Structures both sacred and civic importance, middle of city dedicated to appealing to gods and well being of state / citizenry.

Stele with Hammurabi's law code 1780 BCE Basalt Babylonian Babylon, Iraq

The function of this image is to grant Hummurabi's degree of legitimacy- the law is claimed as being righteous because it is sanctioned by the divine

Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions 645-640 BEC Gypsum Assyrian Nineveh, Iraq

The kings prowness in the hunt is equally meant to suggest a kind of manly virtue in the face of conflict as well as his ability to protect against fierce foes

dealth mask of a king 1600-1500 BCE Gold Mycenaean Mycenae, Greece

The last powerful Aegean culture to thrive in the area before the period of ancient Greece was called the Mycenaean civilization the sites of archaeological discovery provide us with another instance in which early archaeological activity seems to have been tinged or inspired by an interest in later Greek myth. Mycenae, in Greek legend, was the home of King Agamemnon, the ruler who led the Greeks against Troy, in the famed war named after that city, after Helen was stolen from his land. Here, we find objects such as these: gold masks that adorned the bodies of the dead, in tombs. We assume that the mask in this case may depict a ruler, given the lavishness of this kind of burial, but we can't say with any certainty what the precise identity of the man is.

Rhinoceros, Man, and Disemboweled Bison 16,000-14000 BCE Mineral pigment on rock wall Paleolithic France

The painting has sometimes been referred to as the "birdman," because of the stick figure that seems to have an elongated face, which people have observed somewhat resembles a bird's beak. It's been thought that the image can offer additional clues into the relationship between the cave paintings and the people who made them, because it is one of the few paintings in these caves that features an anthropomorphic form - that is, something that resembles a human. Both the man and the bull here are again presented in a twisted or composite perspective, in which the man's head appears in profile, while his body, especially his arms and legs, are turned forward to reveal his full form in a frontal view.

Khafre enthroned 2520-2494 BCE Dorite Old Kingdom Egypt

The son of Khufu was a pharaoh named Khafre, who is depicted here in this example of sculpture. Pharaonic sculpture followed exceptionally strict conventions; there were firm, correct ways to portray the ruler. This seated statue is essentially life-sized, and was found in Khafre's funerary temple situated by the river bank, and connected by causeway to his tomb. These kinds of statues were thought of as able to embody the ka of the pharaoh, so things like food and drink could be brought to the statues, to help nourish the pharaoh's soul in the afterlife. no sense of motion at all: no spaces separate the parts of the body, rock is left solid and intact in places where there be open space, such as in the area in between legs and his seat, the limbs are perfectly and formally aligned, almost geometrically so - the flats of the body are parallel w/surfaces of the throne, the body's planes are perpendicularly arranged at right angles, almost echoing the original disposition of the stone block itself, and locking the pharaoh's body into a kind of immovable grid.

Artemis and Apollo slaying Niobe's children 450 BCE Terracotta Early Classical Greece

The story illustrated on the vase relates to a woman named Niobe, who bore 14 children, and, proud of this accomplishment, boasted that she was greater than the goddess Leto, who only had two children. After this declaration, however, these two children of Leto, Apollo and Artemis, are seen in the upper center portion of the composition shooting their arrows, slaying the children of Niobe. Classical style of vase painting, there is a change in technique, in which we see the development of a method called red-figure painting. This is in some ways the opposite of black-figure painting, in that here, the background instead is painted in slip, with spaces for figures left bare. On these areas, details were now painted on in slip as well. - advanced in greek naturalism it allowed for a much freer rendering of lines, which in turn allowed artists to paint lines that were more organic and fluid - curls hair, artimis pleats in gown we start to see efforts to explore broader representations of setting and space. there is also new attention being paid to the way in which figures will move in, and inhabit, that realm - not limited to profile or frontal view like before .. turning amd angled in space

Menkaure and wife 2490-2472 BCE Graywacke Old Kingdom Egypt

The third pyramid at the complex in Giza was built for Khafre's son, Menkaure, and we see here a statue of this pharaoh, also recovered from his funerary temple along the Nile level of convention that went into depicting these rulers, to the point where we can't really read these faces as being individualized portraits, but rather as sort of emblems of the pharaohs. There is an idealized and conventionalized flawlessness used for depicting these faces and bodies, which retain an eternal youthful quality, and physiques that never show any indication of things like aging. in a standing posture as opposed to enthroned, Menkaure again features the sort of rigorous, rigid quality once more a very frontal aspect to the body, almost a flat plane, save for a small hint of an assertive stride, in the front leg. Besides this small step, the pharaoh's limbs are otherwise lined up and fixed into place, his hands even clenched tightly shut, by his sides. the qualities of her depiction are less angular - there is a kind of curvilinear quality to her hair, softer curves in her gown, as compared with the sharp, linear geometricism that we see in the pharaoh himself. She demonstrates more movement as well, something closer to a kind of human demeanor - she, unlike the pharaoh, remains human - she's the vehicle through which the next pharaoh will be produced, but is not herself divine, and so is naturally lower in status, than he is - In fact, one additional common convention that we'll find in Egyptian figural art is that the lesser one's status in society, the less formality seems to have been required, in that person's representation.

Pediment sculptures 428-432 BCE Mable Classical Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece

The two faces of the long, triangular roof capping the building, for example, called the pediments, featured extensive scenes carved in a Classical style. same idealized face and physic like in Doryphoros (spear bear) a strategy to heighten naturalism: as the interest in conveying not only bodily form but how that form interacted with elements around it grew, a sense of movement came to be meticulously applied to details like garments the sculptures are now removed from their original context, but the full composition on the east pediment originally illustrated the story of Athena's birth - which is symbolized as a new day dawning for the Greeks, with the goddess ushering in with her an unprecedented era of human civilization. middle of the pediment was the figure of Athena, alongside Zeus, and Nike- goddess of victory, crowning Athena w/ a wreath. On the left end of the pediment, a horse rises up, and, together with the horse on the other side, is suggested as pulling the chariot of the sun god Helios, across the sky.

Kouros 600 BCE Marble Archaic Greece

These are life-sized statues carved out of marble, and, like some of the painted pottery that we looked at as well, were also used as grave markers, or sometimes as figures in religious sanctuaries. Archaic-period kouroi seem clearly to have drawn influence from traditions like Egyptian statuary as well. Like the standing figure of Menkaure that we saw in module 3, for example, this kouros is also frontal in its orientation and characterized by an overall lack of movement, its straight limbs striding forward the slightest bit in the left leg, with its fists clenched up at its sides. So while Greek sculpture began by drawing much from places like Egypt, that great civilization before it and its millennia of visual form, its sculpture, like its painting, will soon become more and more preoccupied with perfecting a depiction of the human figure, based on their particular philosophical emphases.

Women of Willendorf 28,000-250,000 BCE Limestone Austria Paleolithic Large breast, stomach = symbol of fertility / fertile crops

These kinds of representations may literally refer to an idea of fullness, in terms of sustenance. On top of this, elements like the very prominent breasts are often a symbol of fertility. Such a concept may carry in it the hope for continued survival and propagation of the species. Images of human fertility were also often associated with a hope for abundance in a more general sense, out in the natural realm. And so, as these figures were created among communities who depended on the growth of their environment for survival - things like nearby animal life, or plant life - figures such as this one may have served to encourage those conditions.

Snake goddess 1600 BCE Faience Minoan Crete, Greece

This figure is often described as either a snake goddess or a snake priestess, and was part of a collection of shrine objects, from the palace site. we see an emphasis on aspects like exposed breasts and hips -pronounced femininity so often used by cultures of the ancient world symbol of land's fertility. The figure was also composed with a very frontal and symmetrical orientation, and certain level of formality often indicates that they were dedicated for the purposes of devotion. This combination of iconography, emphases of form, and placement in a shrine setting have led to the conclusion that the figure may represent either a deity or a religious facilitator. In that case, the snakes, as creatures close to the earth, were perhaps ritually celebrated for grounded connection, and, such as in Greece, they often continued to be seen as auspicious bringers of protection and fertility.

Standard of Ur 2600-2400 BCE Wood, shell, lapis lazuli, and limestone Sumerian Tell Muqayyer, Iraq

Two narratives / roles of effective ruler.. defender & provider. "War side" "peace side"

Inner coffin of Tutankhamen 1323 BCE Gold enamel and semiprecious stones New Kingdom Egypt

Whatever the previous pharaoh Akhenaton's reasons for implementing such sweeping changes in religion and art, it's also clear that there was a good amount of resistance to that new order. And in fact one of the very next pharaohs quickly reinstated the original religious and artistic convention. The pharaoh's name as a child was Tutankhaton, and he was in fact Akhenaton's son. But we can see that even he saw fit to erase his father's anomalous contributions to ancient Egyptian culture. So while Tutankhaton as a name referred to his being the next embodiment of Aton - the sun disc deity promoted by his father - the name Tutankhamen described the leader as the embodiment of Amen-re, a deity that included the original primary sun god, Re.

Doryphoros (spear bearer) 450-440 BCE Bronze (roman marble copy of original) Classical Greece

artist who was seen as most fully embodying the Classical period of Greek sculpture was named Polykleitos, an ex of work is seen in this statue What we're seeing here is actually a later Roman marble copy of what was originally a bronze statue hints of the material benefits that artists found in bronze when compared to the marble used here. for ex -between wrist and hip small block of marble- and -the stone left in place beneath the figure's left heel- also -random tree trunk carved in behind right leg- These are all supports to ensure sculpture will hold up under areas of weight stress- reasons why bronze allowed for a much greater freedom of form.

Boxer 100-50 BCE Bronze Hellenistic Greece

blue ish The period that's referred to as the Hellenistic spans from around the time of the death of Alexander the Great to the establishment of the Roman Empire, in the wake of Greek political decline. Pictured here is an example of sculpture from this era, depicting a boxer. realism -- capturing real details average lifes, hunched and slouched, shows injury and defeated expression -not heroic / not flawless complexion... communicating the emotional and physiological aspects of huma experience

Karmares jar and octopus flask 1800-1700 BCE Minoan Crete, Greece

comparison ---we find the same interest in curvilinearity that we saw in Minoan wall painting. The designs are not abstract, but stylized representations of sea animals. In addition describing animals, just as much attention is given to creating a sense of stylized patterning, through the use of organic, arcing forms and whirls which conform to the shapes of the vessels themselves in addition to giving us a greater sense of the Minoan decorative disposition, these motifs also tell us something about the material interests of the culture as well. As Crete is an island, its inhabitants were a seafaring people, and sea life was a vital component in their livelihoods and survival. Here, then, we see the values of daily life, informing the decoration of their craft.

Ti on a hippopotamus hunt 2450-2350 BCE painted limestone Old Kingdom

continued the convention in which the person of highest rank or stature required also the greatest formality of depiction. Here, for example, Ti is presented in a much stiffer, more angular kind of stance, than the others on the boat who are all busy energy and movement by comparison - bending, stretching out, and running about. another device used ubiquitously in Egyptian pictorial composition, which is called the canon of proportions, a widely accepted guideline, using a system of measurement to depict a human being in what as regarded as being an aesthetically ideal proportion. We can see here that, in this system, the Egyptians used a unit of measurement basically equal to the size of the fist of whatever figure they were depicting it seems also that reminders of daily activities enjoyed were thought to have been prudent in final resting places as well, so that the dead could continue to lead a satisfied and productive existence. So often in these tombs, a lot of wall carvings and paintings illustrated things like scenes of activities that the deceased enjoyed while in life. Here, Ti is shown with his attendants on a river barge, along with fishes and hippopotamuses, and surrounded by foliage and trees. It is a reminder of the pleasures of life, so that they can be continued, after death.

Akhenaton 1353-1335 BCE Sandstone (Armarna period) Egypt

dd interlude in New Kingdom art, referred to as the Amarna period. Here, for whatever reason, we find the appearance of a pharaoh who decided to change Egyptian art and culture quite entirely, going so far as to establish a new dominant god in the Egyptian religion. In place of the primary god Re, the pharaoh Akhenaton installed a new chief deity called Aton, which accounts for the name then taken on by the ruler, referring to his being the embodiment of this god. While Old Kingdom royal sculpture, for example, rendered the king's form in straight lines, right angles and flat planes, these Akhenaton portraits are characterized by a surprisingly fluid treatment of lines and contours. There are no records to provide a clear sense of why Akhenaton might have implemented these changes, but for whatever reason, we seem to have during this time a ruler who set his cultural identity apart from his long line of predecessors and successors alike.

Bull-leaping fresco 1400-1370 BCE Fresco Minoan

found at Palace at Knossos Fresco is a technique of applying pigment to wet plaster on a wall, so that this pigment seeps into the material, becoming a part of the wall surface. It's a technique that will have a long and illustrious history in the region, gaining particular prominence much later in the time of Renaissance Italy. Here, we see an early instance of the technique, the artist in this case painting a sculptured relief of plaster. depicts a bull in forward stride, along with two female figures, and a male performing a kind of leaping action over the bull. Beginning most clearly in these Minoan examples, we find the introduction of a convention into the art of the area for identifying the genders of figures by depicting women as lighter skinned, and males as darker. - fluidty and movement comparison to art before: We can also consider an image like this along our long trajectory of developing ideas for composing narrative images, especially in comparison to much older paintings, like the rhinoceros, man, and bison cave painting at Lascaux, from some 15,000 years earlier. When talking about that image, we pointed out the reasons that we couldn't very well determine the relationships between the elements depicted, at least, not according to the conventions for visual narration with which we are now accustomed. We saw some development of that through Mesopotamian and Egyptian art, and now here in the Minoan world, those strategies continue to unfold.

Palette of Narmer 3000-2920 BCE Slate Egypt

hierarchical scale, the ancient artistic technique of signifying importance, which also became a convention here in Egypt. Thus, Narmer is the largest figure and is also the most centrally placed. Behind him, and naturally depicted as being much smaller, his servant follows, carrying his sandals. middle portion of the palette has been reserved for a recessed, circular space between a motif of entwined animals, which again alludes to a theme of union. This open space, or cavity, speaks to the implied function of the object, used in Egypt for mixing and preparing eye make-up but because this particular palette is quite a bit larger than similar utilitarian objects, and also because it was found as a dedication in a temple, this palette may have been made strictly as a ceremonial object, a symbolic version of a real-life good.

Nike of Samothrace 190 BCE Marble Hellenistic Greece

high drama goodness of victory statue originally build to convey victory on ship and have pool underneath forward motion

Achilles and Ajax playing dice 540-530 BCE Terracotta Archaic Greece

maker can be identified by a name, Exekias. This identification is a part of a new Greek celebration of the individual man, which was included in extolling mankind's abilities in general black-figure technique, in which the surface of the clay would be covered in slip, and then the details of figures would be incised into this layer by scraping the slip off now the human figure looks as a complete form, as well as how that form's actual behavior and movement might be adequately conveyed. There is less rigidity, and more exploration of movement, in the hunched postures of the men, rather than the upright and processional images that preceded them.

The Pyramids at Giza 2551-2472 BCE Limestone Old Kingdom Giza, Egypt

most famed of Egyptian constructions - their pyramids, built as monumental tombs for Old Kingdom pharaohs, and understood to serve as points of entry for the pharaohs, into the afterlife. the pyramids at Giza were positioned on the Nile River's west bank, facing the direction of the sunset, which was equated with the direction of the journey taken at the end of life. Each of the pyramids originally were connected by an elevated road to a temple on the banks of the Nile After death, the pharaoh's body would be transported across the river to temple, then carried forward to the pyramid tomb where it was presented w/ offerings of food/drink, before ceremonies were carried out to prepare for its final entombment. symbolic crossing, and many cultures have used this idea of a water passage to suggest the transition from life to death sort of first step toward transporting the pharaoh into a kind of beyond, a process which then continued through the pharaoh's temples, and then ultimately into their pyramid tombs.

Lion Gate 1300-1250 BCE Limestone Mycenaean Mycenae, Greece

proud warrior culture - they dominated the Aegean through force, and the noblemen of society were made up by an elite warrior class -- found the remains of settlements designed as monumental citadels, built atop hills, and surrounded by immense walls of protective stone masonry we are seeing the remains of one of these walls. like most ancient stone architecture, no mortar was used to hold the stones together, simply stacked in such a way that their sheer weight kept wall intact, periodic gaps would sometimes be filled in with smaller stones, or clay. In this view, we see an entrance to the citadel referred to as the Lion Gate, because of the motifs on the decorated relieving triangle above, similar to the protective and intimidating beasts guarding entrances in nearby Mesopotamia. This lighter-weight triangle is in place because there is nothing but open space beneath the lintel of the gate, and thus nothing to support the colossal stones used in the rest of the walls.

Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and daughters 1353-1335 BCE Limestone Sandstone (Armarna period) Egypt

relief carving depicting Akhenaton and his family. The image is part of the tradition of establishing a divine sanctioning of the royal family: the disc at the top and center of the composition, emanating rays upon the family, is a representation of Aton, the god whom Akhenaton elevated to a position of primacy. this work continues to mark a dramatic departure, too, from that heritage. In addition to glorifying a new god, we see here as we did in Akhenaton's portrait statuary the same sweeping forms of contour, made up of largely of curvilinear lines rather than the previously more angular or rectilinear compositions favored. Also the same elongation and slenderizing of figures, even in the children here, who continue to feature protracted heads, and the slight droop of the stomach. In addition to the loosening of form in the figures, there also seems to be a corresponding loosening of mood, as well, counter to the earlier, locked sense of formality, and lack of movement. Here, there is almost a kind of casualness about the scene This is not a departure that would last long, however, and soon after the end of Akhenaton's reign, the conventions with which we've become familiar will be firmly reestablished, and the Amarna ruler will come to be regarded as heretical and fraudulent, resulting in much of the artwork he commissioned being destroyed or defaced.

Scraper 330 BCE Bronze (Roman marble copy of original) Late Classical Greece

shift in late classical during this era, we will see Greek art becoming less idealistic, a product of some continuous shifts in the social tenor. There had been resentment growing over the overbearing control of Athens, which led to persistent, assiduous conflict in and around the Aegean. Thus, in social circumstances that rallied less around the earlier perception of a unified grandeur of man, artists also became less eager to further idealistic portrayals, and often turned their skills to communicate a smaller scale, everyday experience, instead.

Peplos Kore 530 BCE Marble Archaic Greece

standing figures of women, counterparts to the kouroi, referred to as kore Peplos Kore, named after the type of garment the statue was thought to have worn, ancient Greek dress - peplos. Typically votive figures, designed as tributes to deities. movement - arm would been raised colored - still evidence in eyes / dress "archatic smile" - shows liveliness the emphasis was not on freezing them in time, but on filling them with life, the vigor that they saw in human existence on the whole.

Cycladic woman figure 2600-2300 BCE Marble Cycladic Cyclades, Greece

suggest an interest in abstract ideas such as death, and the afterlife These figures range in size from just a few inches in height, to just about life-sized, and they tend to use basic, geometric forms to render the figures' shapes: typically the forms consist of a squarish oval, or rounded triangle, to depict a face, a simple, raised ridge for a nose, a rectangular body or torso, and a triangle to suggest the pelvis. Many of these figures seem to be women, with some effort being taken to indicate their gender: rounded forms on the torso indicate breasts, for example, notches in the pelvis are used to render female reproductive organs, and little hints of a belly are often included to

Seated scribe 2500 BCE painted limestone Old Kingdom Egypt

there are also sculptures like the one shown here from ancient Egypt, referred to as a seated scribe. We see indications of that profession in the man's depiction as well: the scribe sits cross-legged with a papyrus scroll, his right hand poised as though ready to begin writing. This statue was also found in a tomb, and the fact that he was able to generate such imagery suggests that the scribe did hold a fairly high status in society, but naturally, this was not as high as a pharaoh's. considerably smaller than the portraits of kings that we've seen, less durable material, there is a more individualized quality to the figure, and that it is less idealized, appearance of sagging flesh, in the chest and in the stomach, showing the effects of something like his age, on the man's body.