Unit 3
Winged Victory of Samothrace AP37 5.65
- 180 BCE - made of Thasian and Parian marble - statue was an ex-voto (votive offering to a deity) most likely given by the people of Rhodes to commemorate a naval victory - the offering would have also served to gain the deities favor, protecting sailors and armies against storms and enemies - Hellenistic period - depicts Nike, who was the messenger goddess of victory - is missing her head and both arms, but may have been holding a trumpet or cupping her hand around her mouth to announce a naval victory - was meant to be viewed from three-quarters to the statue's right-hand side, evidenced because the other side is not as intricately carved - gone is the stiff, more classical style of antiquity; in its place is a Hellenistic passion and voluptuousness - the Hellenistic period followed the death of Alexander the Great when the Greek kingdom got split up, so the constant warring between city-states and other kingdoms increased the emphasis on Nike, who would spread the message of a victory - original setting: hill side niche above the theater in the sanctuary of the great gods @ Samothrace, possible drenched from spray of fountain
Akhenaton and Family AP22 3-26
- 18th dynasty - 1353-1336 BCE - From Akhrtaten - painted limestone relief - Shows Akhenaten (pharaoh), Queen Nefirtiti and three daughters - daughters have long, bald heads - Royal couple receives blessings from Aten, whose rays shine down, giving them the breath of life - Loving child-parent relationship not portrayed in earlier arts - Made of Limestone - New Kingdom - Different from other pharaohs because they tend to be authoritative, but not here - Worship atum, sun god - Akhenaten's rule - saw the creation of new capital and new religious focus - radical change in royal artistic conventions; in portraits of the king, artists subjected representation to startling stylizations and physical distortions - monotheistic god, "Aten", represented by the sun disc in the center - Cobra in the sun disk implies SOLE leadership, ONLY ONE GOD (monotheism); Aten is the supreme deity - ankhs (symbol of life) radiate out from the sun disc and reach toward the king and his wifethis shows that Aten connects directly to the royal family, and to them alone Context: - Egyptian art and culture generally experienced little change; the Amarna period (this period) is an exception - Pharaoh Akhenaten changed state religion from worship of god Amun to monotheistic worship of a new, sun god, Aten - Pharaoh and his wife, Nefertiti, were made to be the only earthly representatives of this new god - this upsets the entire Egyptian priesthood because it takes all their power and influence away and leaves it in the hands of the royal family. - The change in religion was not made because of the pharaoh's real, religious beliefs, but for purely selfish reasons: to make himself and his family more powerful - after Akhenaten dies, Egypt returns to traditional religionso, brief "blip" in Egyptian history - There are also significant stylistic changes:domestic focus, tendernessmore informalsofter, less rigid and permanent than what we see in typical Egyptian artwork - disproportionate bodies: - art historians once thought that perhaps Akhenaten and his family had some genetic disease that mutated the shape of their bodies, however, it is now believed that the artist just did not have the skill to proportionally render the human body, and that the sloping, relaxed forms, were meant to be an encouragement of curvilinear forms in artworkAkhenaten encouraged this stylistic change from rectilinear forms to curvilinear as another hallmark of his "new era"
Standard of Ur AP16 (https://www.penn.museum/sites/iraq/?page_id=48)
- 2600-2400 B.C.E - Early Dynastic period - Colorful mosaic tiles made from shell (from Persian gulf), red limestone (from India), blue lapis lazuli (from Afghanistan) , set in bitumen - Very small- can be carried FUNCTION: - Largely unknown - "Standard" was usually a flag brought into battle in war- art historians hypothesize that this standard was once on a pole and brought into battle - The Standard of Ur, first excavated from the Royal Tombs at Ur - Also intentionally buried- very valuable object at the time - May be a holder of currency used to pay for the war - May be a music box - A lot of speculation, little to no clear record on its use! PEACE SIDE: - Peace side of Standard of Ur The reverse side, labeled the 'Peace' side by historians, portrays the preparation and celebration of a royal feast. Those who believe the Standard portrays an actual event believe this feast took place in commemoration of the preceding side's military victory. The top row shows the king being feted and congratulated by his lords who are facing him. In the background, lyres are being played. The bottom two rows show the preparation of the feast by the common folk, who gather sacks of grain and livestock to be fed to the king and his lords. WAR SIDE: - War side of Standard of Ur Historians have labeled the two sides of the Standard 'War' and 'Peace,' and for those who believe the Standard depicts an historical account of an actual event, the 'War' side is the chronological beginning. The top row on this side depicts the end of the battle. The king of Ur (who is noticeably larger than the rest of the figures) accepts the enemy's surrender, while also taking many prisoners of war. The second row depicts the Sumerian soldiers, in full battle armor, at first on the march and then slaying their enemies on the field of battle. The bottom row has proven to be one of the more contentious rows of the Standard. While some historians believe it to be a depiction of the Sumerian chariot attack, others think it is the post-battle procession (with the king's chariot in front) leading the army back to Ur. INFO: Ur was one of the first village settlements founded around 4000 BC in an area of Mesopotamia known as Sumer, and by 2800 BC it had become one of the most prosperous city-states in the region. As the first cities developed, increased population led to the establishment of complex systems of administration and record-keeping and increased wealth gave rise to social hierarchies, specialist roles within society and the need for more organised forms of protection. The peace side of the Standard shows how the city, and in particular the ruler, draws upon the agricultural and natural resources of its territory. Agricultural success was necessary to the growth of a city-state and to the benefits it brought to the people. It was also on this success that the ruling group could build a courtly lifestyle involving feasting and entertainment. Agricultural surplus could be used to trade exotic foreign goods, such as the materials used to decorate the Standard, which came hundreds or thousands of miles from the Persian Gulf (the white shells), Afghanistan (the blue lapis lazuli) and India (the red stones). On the other side, the Standard portrays warfare as a means of protecting the wealth of the city-state from outsiders. The organised nature of the army, their equipment and their conquest of enemies can be seen as symbols of the ruler's power and status. One further reason why the Standard is valuable to our understanding of ancient cities is that it shows a range of people - prisoners, warriors, agricultural workers, musicians - overseen by the ruler positioned at the top and shown larger than everyone else. So even though the purpose of the Standard of Ur remains uncertain, the message it conveys is very clear: that a society's prosperity is generated through social organisation of its people, and the protection and management of its resources.
Votive Figures from Eshnunna AP14 Ch 2.5
- 2900-2600 BC, Square Temple at Eshnunna - Alabaster, limestone, gypsum - Early Dynastic I-II - Sumerian culture - these figures of men and women - images dedicated to the gods - are related to an ancient Near Eastern devotional practice where individual worshipers could set up images of themselves in a shrine before a larger god image -eye contact with god (big eyes) - stylized face and body - Portable; temple away from place of worship - Stand-in for owner (stylized for a specific person but not an individual) - Inscription - reminds anthropomorphic god to look favorably upon the donor - Preserve faith to god(s) after death - Wish to be granted - Increase the representation and status of the donor by showing the wealth of the votive offering - Cross-Cultural Connections: - Female Deity from Nukuoro - Veranda post - Ikenga - Sumerians believe one god killed another god, cut up her body, and made up the sky, sea, stars People of Mesopotamia's job is to serve the gods
Palette of Narmer AP13 p. 52 for plenty of info on design
- 3000-2920 B.C.E. Greywacke - Predynastic Egypt (Early dynastic period) - in this period, most common tomb structure was the mastaba (pg 53) - carved from slate (grayish/green siltstone), in bas-relief - Commonly interpreted as representing the unification of Egypt - typically palettes were smaller, very flat and didn't feature intricate designs, but the pallet of Narmer is unique - found in the temple of horas @ Hierakonpolis - used as a well for grinding and mixing makeup, like dark eyeliner applied under eyes to protect from the sun's harsh glare (desert region) -found buried under the floor of a temple in Hierakonpolis -leaders, upper class people, or anyone who had the money would give objects such as this to temples to demonstrate their piety and form a connection with the God -this palette was a ceremonial object, dedicated to a god, used for rituals, and could have been used to apply make up to the actual artistic depictions of the god in the temple -would have been ritually buried after new donations were received -makeup could have been mixed in the well formed by the the two intertwining heads of the mythical seopards -uniquely displays human action, opposed to animals or just mythical imagery -contains iconography that is consistent with other Egyptian art thousands of years later, consistency representative of Egypts stability -contains several scenes, symbols and creatures of cultural significance all explained in full in the above images -features the power of the king through use of hierarchical scale, registers, (uniquely) showingkilts, royal beard, and bull tail, him in the crown of both upper and lower egypt, kilts, the royal beard, and a bull tail Context: -palettes were very widely distributed, as makeup in Egypt was accessible for men and women of all social classes -the unification of upper and lower Egypt under a single ruler was a very significant event in Egyptian history at this point in time, the duality of the piece with the king's two crowns and the two different faces of the palette represents their unity, while depicting their differences -on both sides the lowest register features the dead bodies of defeated enemies, again demonstrating Egyptian strength, this time in a military sense -could also be depicting chaos and order, an essential belief in the Egyptian understanding of the cosmos -some of the imagery could represent the journey of the sun god - many figures on palette shown in composite poses (so each point of body is shown from its most charecteristic viewpoint), and heads are shown in profile -white crown (looks like a bowling pin) is the symbol of Upper Egypt - Symbolizes the conquering of lower egypt & unification of Egypt - Muscles show his power - Bulls are 2 protective Gods (horns) - On third register, 2 people harnessing the composite animals (similar to lamassu) - Used to mix cosmetics to paint a statue - On the second register, the King (larger figure) has captured subjects of lower egypt (small figures) - Also, there are several decapitated bodies on the right of the second register - CENTER HARNESSED LIONS WITH ELONGATED NECKS FORM RECESS FOR MIXING COSMETIC PAINTS
Four Tetrarchs Ch 6.62
- 305 CE - Constantinople - right in the middle of the tetrarchy - portrays 2 Augusti, 2 caesars (4 emperors after Diocletian split the empire) - Did not go very well, bc emperors ended up fighting, not working together - Porphyry = purple marble - hard, rare, and expensive: shows Rome being wealthy - to help make people feel secure, they would create statues helping people feel safe; that is the function of this statue - purple is the color of empire + shows the emperors are in charge - not meant to show the human body, more to send a message - Content shows they are all working together - words: tetrarchy, porphyry - Info: a little stylized, not very much - not individualistic, more generic - propagandistic piece of art (like Caesar @ prima porta)
Niobid krater AP33 (https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/greek-art/greek-pottery/v/niobid-krater)
- 460-450 B.C.E. - figures are stiff - early classical - Type of vessel: Calyx-krater - Created during the CLASSIC period - Large punch bowl - used to mix water and wine - Geometric Period (c. 900-700 B.C.E.): geometric patterns - To produce the characteristic red and black colors: - used liquid clay as paint (termed "slip") - 3 step process 1) kiln at 800 degrees centigrade - turns vase red 2) seal vents in kiln change temp to 900-950° centigrade- turns black; places with slip transformed into a glassy substance 3) vents reopened and unpainted zones become red again; slip / the painted areas retained a glossy black hue - Orientalizing Period (c. 700-600 B.C.E.): animal processions and Near Eastern motifs - Archaic and Classical Periods (c. 600-323 B.C.E.): vase-paintings primarily display human and mythological activities - Similar to Beaker with ibex motifs, black-on-black ceramic vessel - 2 sides: one side is of war almost - the other is more peaceful - kind of like the Standard of Ur - FRONT: - Shows the story of a woman named Niobe- Niobe (a mortal woman) had 14 kids; 7 girls and 7 boys- She bragged that her kids were more numerous and more beautiful then the kids of goddess leto- Leto was the mother of Artemis (huntress) and Apollo (sun and music) - Artemis and Apollo exacted revenge for their mother by killing all of Niobe's kids (this is the scene on the front) - Artemis is reaching into her quiver for another arrow - Apollo is drawing his bow back - can see tension in Apollo's body and drapery - dead children litter the field - god and goddess are in perfect profile - Niobe's kids are more frontal BACK: - Herakles (aka Hercules) in the center (place of importance) - half mortal half god - holding a club and wearing a lion skin - his feet don't touch the ground - everyone is placed around him - Herakles is surrounded by warriors some standing some reclining - Athena (wisdom) is on his left - maybe it's not a painting of herakles but rather a painting of a statue of herakles - maybe greek soldiers are coming to honor him and ask for protection before they go into battle - 490 bce - greeks battle enormous Persian army and somehow won - maybe this is showing soldiers asking for protection before battle at Marathon - there could have been very faint lines that show Herakles on a podium - which would make sense bc statue of a god with men rather than a god amongst men - Red figure technique - invented in Athens around 525-520 BCE - inverse of black-figure- light-colored figures are set against a dark background - thick slip used to create "relief lines" to help outline - lines raised prominently from the surface - White-ground technique - polychrome figures on a white-washed background - Black figure technique - black figures with light background - developed by about 700 B.C. in Corinth - not adopted by vase-painters in Athens until about 620 B.C.E.
AP 32 Tomb of the Triclinium Ch 6.7
- 480 BCE - Painted frieze - Tarquinia, Italy - The tomb is meant to be a single chamber with wall decorations painted in fresco - Funerary: share a final meal with the deceased as deceased transitioned to the afterlife - Young men and women dance to the music of the lyre and double flute w/in a room whose ceiling is covered in geometric decoration - Includes stylized trees and birds - Couples at the end of the room recline on couches enjoying a banquet - diners dressed in bright and expensive robes (elite status) - Dancers and diners - women and men - enjoying the joyful aspects of life as we know it - Etruscans believed that their lives in the afterlife would be very similar to their life on earth - kind of like Egyptians - banquet funeral costume -- reinforced the socio-economic position of the deceased person + family - - show the community their importance with: visual reminders of socio-political status indications of wealth civic achievements notably public offices held - Tombs are the only remains because the Romans (when they took over) destroyed everything (or changed it) - Etruscans vs Egyptians vs Greeks - Etruscans buried their dead in carved coffins + buried them in houses with necessities for the afterlife + for the elite - similar to the Egyptians (sarcophagus for pharaohs) but Egyptians didn't bury they covered? (with giant Pyramid) - Greeks cremated or buried urn (with ashes in them) - contain remains of the deceased and various grave goods or offerings like Egypt (Pyramids of Giza)
Barberini togatus Ch 6.14
- 50BCE-50CE - Verism is an interest in the faithful reproduction of the immediate visual and tactile appearance of a subject - Made of marble - Lifesize - Signals his wealth and status as the artistic tastes are similar to the emperor - Toga is not Greek, but indigenous, and signifies his respectability of a powerful Roman - Showing off family ancestors - Showing off bust of his dad and grandfather - This would be in his atrium - Family very important - could issue a damnatio memoriae, meaning they could not show images of ancestors - Heads are veristic - no smiles, not trying to look pleasant - Barberini family owned it
AP 29 Sarcophagus of the Spouses Ch 6.9
- 520 BCE - Etruscan - Painted terracotta - Remains of the dead (ash) were placed in urns or sarcophagi (coffins) - Found in approximately 400 hundred pieces - Etruscans: - The Etruscans were in Northern Italy just North of the Romans - Only history of the Etruscans being the art and the inscriptions that came with them - Extremely relaxes - odd considering concurrent works would be the Kouros in Greece, being extremely stiff - Have the Archaic Smile - Displays the importance of the woman in Etruscan culture by displaying the woman with her husband - Serves similarly to the Kouros, as it is a grave marker, indicative of burial practices - Found in an Etruscan tomb in a necropolis
Still Life with Peaches Ch 6.34
- 62-79 CE - Fresco on a wall - Positioned on two stepped shells to give clarity and balance - Fourth style wall painting - Still life - Found in the town of Herculaneum, near Pompeii - Strong, clear light casted on the objects, creating shadows and highlights - Vase shadow is weird - This is a fresco - painting on plaster wall
AP 30 Apadana of Persepolis (2.23 - 2.25) (pg 47)
- 72 columns each 24 meters tallextremely intricate - The column capitals were animalsbulls, eagles, and lions; all symbols of royalty - 2 monumental staircases - The walls were carved with illustrations of hundreds of figures bringing offerings to the king from all the states conquered by the Persian Empire - Carved primarily of Limestone - The carvings on the walls were bas-reliefDisplay the importance and authority of the King - The column capitals were high-relief - only a few examples remain - The hall was hypostyle architecture columns holding up the roof - Built in Persepolis in the Persian Empire, modern day Iran - 6th century BCE - Built by Darius I - The Persian empire was very tolerant for the era represented in the bas-relief carvings displaying all the ethnic groups the Persians conquered - Was later conquered by Alexander the GreatEven he was impressed by the Persian empire and culture as he respectfully buried the last Persian Emperor (Darius III) FUNCTION - Represent the expansive nature of the Persian Empire and Emperor's power - Ceremonial Hall - Served as the center of the Persian Empire's capital
AP 42 Veristic head of Roman patrician Ch 6.13
- 75-50 BCE - Marble - From Otricoli, Italy; now housed in the Palazzo Torlonia in Rome, Italy - Not idealized, more realistic - values wrinkles as it represents wisdom - Terra Cotta- was used and then painted with encaustic (otherwise referred to as a hot wax process) Veristic Style: Verism - A form of realism (hyper-realistic) - Over exaggerated (extremely aged and care worn) - Used as a way of honoring powerful elders - Unlike the Greek, the Romans believed that a head was enough to suffice as a portrait - Influenced by the tradition of ancestral imagines - Death wax masks of notable ancestors were kept and displayed by the Aristocratic family - During Republican Rome - A veristic sculpture that accurately depicts a patrician - Admire the age of the elderly (in this case, an old patrician) - Symbolizes the virtues of wisdom, determination, experience, valor, and strength that all Roman Republicans hoped to obtain Etruscans and Romans both admired Greek art - In 509 BCE, Romans overthrew the final Etruscan king and set up an oligarchy - Roman art rooted in Etruscan influence - Romans used Greek designs and orders in their architecture, and imported Greek art, as well as employing Greek artists - Similar to Old Market Woman - Realistic art in Roman Republic different from idealizes art in classical Greece
AP 44 Colosseum Ch 6.38, 6.39
- AKA Flavian Amphitheatre - Romans were huge sport fans - Flavian Amphitheatre began under Vespian in 70 CE and was completed under Titus who dedicated in in 80 CE - Known as the Colosseum because a giant statue of Nero called the Colossus stood next to it - Floor covered by sand - Romans watched blood events, athletic events, animal hunts, and spectacles - Opening performances (80 CE) lasted 100 days and killed 9,000 wild animals and 2,000 gladiators - Stadiums still use this plan today - shift from ancient Greek focus on exterior space CONTENT - Complexity increased from top to bottom massive, ellipse/oval-shaped ring four main levels (can be thought of as registers!)levels 1-3 had evenly-spaced, arched windows around the entire circumference of the amphitheater - level 4 had a solid exterior wall, no windows; this, being the highest section of seating, would be where the lower classes would sit (slaves, foreigners, women) there would have been statuary figures in each window arch on levels 2 and 3, but not on level 1, because those arches served as doors that people would walk through to enter the amphitheater above the 4th level, the upper rim of the colosseum was lined with bronze shields/spearsa glorious, dramatic, and impressive-looking decoration could be considered a 5th 'register'?however, not a separate floor of seating, only an independent register in the visual sense flat stage filled with sand in centersand was to absorb blood and other bodily fluids from the fighting seats angled up from the stage in every direction (shallow funnel) the "hypogeum"the underground part of the Colosseum, which included animal pens, trapdoors, and a network of tunnels, was called the 'hypogeum'according to tribunesandtriumphs.org, "The hypogeum consisted of two-level subterranean network of tunnels and 32 animal pens. There were 80 vertical shafts provided instant access to the arena for animals and scenery. Large hinged platforms, called hegmata provided access for large animals" the "velarium"a retractable awning that would cover the arena to provide shade for spectators Three different orders of columns are used to support the arches Level 1 = Tuscan (similar to Doric, but even more simplistic, and specific to ancient Rome) Level 2 = Ionic Level 3 = Corinthian columns are sturdier, more basic at the bottom Level 4 = Corinthian pilasters become more delicate, ornate higher associated with femininity? women sat in the highest level of seating
Exekias vase 5.1, 5.22 - PG 101
- Ajax and Achilles playing a game - It is an amphora - Exekias signed it as potter and painter - Achilles won the dice game - Ironic, because when the two went into battle, Achilles died, and Ajax killed himself from sadness - 540-530 BCE - The piece includes crisscrossing diagonals and compressed of overlapping spears, bodies, and table portrays spatial complexity - No hint of gods or kings - Focus rests on the private activities of heroic warriors - Greeks very self-aware and confident, needed a new art style
Acropolis and Parthenon (6) AP35 5.35 - 5.46 (129)
- Athens originated as an Akropolis, or city on top of a hill - Akropolis became the city's religious and ceremonial center developed to primarily Athena, the city's protector, and patron - Persians destroyed Akropolis in 480 BCE -perikles decided to rebuild it, and chose Pheidias to supervise it - Athena Nike is in here Parthenon - required alot of math - all marble - had two sculptured friezes Means "high-city" Athens, Greek 447-410 BCEMarble The parthenon Iktinos and Kallikrates were in charge to rebuild the parthenon Phidias was in charge of the sculptures Doric temple Columns do not have the scroll On the pediments, there were statues to commemorate the birth of Athena & events from her life Columns inclined inwards so it looks proportionate - called entasis Solid ashlar masonry walls Temple of Athena nike Plaque of the Ergastines Sculptures from Parthenon East Pediment Nike sculpture (within the Temple of Athena Nike) Athens was sacked by the Persians - Persians were mad at Athens The Parthenon Frieze Marble panels created to adorn upper part of naos on the east size High classical style
Hammurabi's Stele AP19 (p. 39)
- Basalt (hard volcanic rock) - piece of art AND code of law - hierarchical scale - enormously important and cherished - source before biblical texts - CONTEXT - What was happening at the time? Art and Societal Control Power and Posterity perception of society Devine elements - destiny CONTENT - These laws were written in cuneiform (order) - Predates 10 Commandments - Covered in small registers right to be king ode to glory over 300 forms of laws that govern Babylonia cuneiform in the acadian language (language very accessible)--wanted for it to be a legacy for understanding (laws and consequences were very serious) - outlines actions (beginning in a tradition in saying laws are uniform) Judah Christian Belief - Produced in Babylon, carried to Susa - Made of basalt - Hammurabi formulated law code for realm - The God Shamash bestows symbols of authority on king (figure on the right), who is the sun god Frontal torso, head in profile Large figure - shows power Horns on head dress Shamash is giving Hammurabi authority to enforce this law code Purpose of the laws is to create order in the world INFO - Hammurabi standing & bowing to Shamash (sun god and god of justice) - god given laws on stone tablets has a long tradition (500 yrs later, Moses received 2 stone tablets containing 10 commandments) - rights & punishments dependent on class and status - eye for an eye... - death penalty = stealing from a temple
Last Judgment of Hu-Nefer AP 24 3-35
- By the New Kingdom, Egyptians came to believe that only a person free from wrongdoing could enjoy an afterlife - "final test" presided by Osiris, the god of the underworld, and Anubis, the god of embalming and cemeteries - believed hearts were the seat of the soul - would be weighed against an ostrich feather (symbol of Ma'at, goddess of truth and order) - Illustration from the Book of the dead - 19th Dynasty - 1285 BCE - painted papyrus - From the book of the dead - contains hymns spells - to get people thru the dangers and difficulties of the afterlife) - This was in his tomb @ Thebes - People buried on the west, because the sunset there - From the New Kingdom Egypt - Painted papyrus scroll - Hu-Nefer being led in by Anubis, heart is being weighed against a feather, and he has passed the test - A bunch of little gods on the top - Hieroglyphics narrating the process - New theme - print & text, because it is narrating what is going on and helping him say the right things - Other themes - ceremonies in society, religion (gods present), cosmology (afterlife) - Same conventions of form, legs and head are in profile, shoulders and eye are frontal - Egyptian art is consistent throughout time Content: - In upper left, Hunefer is speaking to a line of crouching deities, explaining how he has lived a good life and deserves to life in the afterlife. He is depicted in a white robe. Hunefer is led by Anubis, a jackel-headed god, who is carrying an ankh, a symbol of eternal life. Anubis is seen with a scale, weighing Hunefer's heart with a feather from Ma'at (associated with living an ethical, ordered life.) If the feather weighs more, he has lived an ethical life. If heart weighs more, the beast Ammit (crocodile, lion, hippo beast) will devour Hunefer if he's found to have lived an unethical life. Ibis, Faaf, is the scribe recording the deeds of Hunefer, with a green ibis-like head.Horus (a falcon-headed son of Osiris; holds an ankh in his hand) introduces Hunefer to Osiris, the enthroned deity on the far right. Isis, Osiris's wife, and Neftis, Osiris's sister, stand behind Osiris and join him in making the judgment on Hunefer. Context: - Book of Dead was an ancient Egyptian text with spells, prayers, and incantations that helped the dead in the afterlife. - Book of Dead was part of "pyramid text" writing (instructions for afterlife.) Pyramid Text preceded "coffin texts:" instructions written on coffins, and also writing on shrouds. - Originally texts for the afterlife were just for kings, but then extended to those of wealth or priestly status. - Hunefer had a priestly status, this text was found buried with him. Egyptians believed that people had an afterlife only if they had lived an ethical life. Lotus blossom, ankh, and ostrich feathers depict eternal life. - Horus's 4 children are responsible for caring for Hunefer's internal organs; they represent the 4 cardinal points - During Armarna period in Egypt there were very atypical, angular depictions of humans; this scroll followed that period and returned to the original Egyptian depictions of deities and the human form.
AP 45 Forum of Trajan (4)
- Commemorates victory over Dacia (Romanians) in 106 CE - Temple to Trajan himself - 106-112 CE - Brick and concrete (architecture) - marble (column) - Temple, statue, library - all gone - Markets still there, as well as Trajan's column - Originally naked Trajan @ the top of Column, now of st peter - Includes River God - Romans add ribbon frieze - documentary-like narrative - Frieze isn't about the battle, more about the engineering needed to be successful - 2 libraries (greek library and Latin library) - Hired words best architect (Pantheon) - Trajan wad emperor to the greatest geographical extent -
AP 38 Altar of Zeus and Athena Ch 5.62,63 (https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/ancient-mediterranean-ap/greece-etruria-rome/v/the-pergamon-altar-c-200-150-b-c-e)
- Created in 200-150 B.C.E., Hellenistic Period, in Pergamon - The Hellenistic refers to the last period of Greek art, the last phase of Greek art after the death of Alexander the Great. - battle between the giants and the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus. - She is graceful and beautiful, even as she battles a ferocious giant, a Titan. - it's clear who's going to win. Athena looks totally in control. She's grabbed Alcyoneus by the hair, pulling him out of the Earth, disempowering him. His mother, on the other side, completely unable to help him. - Like Athena, Zeus seems composed and totally in control. Even as he rushes forward, we have no doubt that he is the victor here. - optimism that they could overcome chaos A battle of the Greek mythological pantheon of gods vs. the Giants to determine the controller of the universe Athena fights Alkyoneus, the main giant, as his mother looks on in horror. appears confident and triumphant as she fights. being crowned from behind by a winged Nike. Uses battle snakes to aid in defeating the giants. Earned name Athena "gigantolteira" = slayer of the giants ZeusBattles 3 Giants at once, with the help of an eagle (above) and his lightning bolt Cloaked in realistically ruffled robes2 of the three giants he has already defeated; they lie in (youthful) ruin around him CONTEXT: - Alexander the Great "Hellenized," or spread Greek influence, from Egypt to the Indus Valley during his reign. - When Alexander the Great died, his four generals inherited his land and reign. - One of the generals saw the hilltop of Pergamon as geographically desirable, and therefore built the city of Pergamon. - In the 1800s, the Prussians wanted to achieve/mimic French and British culture, so they created the Pergamon Museum. - The Pergamon Museum of Berlin recreated the Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon very realistically (lots of artistic effort by the Museum.) - In ancient Pergamon, the altar would've been surrounded by a library of 200,000+ scrolls, a royal palace for the king, and a garrison for soldiers. The altar was never fully completed because King Prusias II attacked Pergamon in 156 BCE.
Arch of Titus Ch 6.36, 6.37
- Emperor Domitian commissioned it - In the Roman forum - Flavian period - commemorates Domitian's father and brother in the Jewish war, where Jerusalem was sacked, and the temple was plundered - Expresses the divinity of Titus, brother of Domitian Concreate core - Rome, Italy - 81 CE - Barrel vault - Made of marble & concrete - On top, it says "The senate and people of Rome to the divine Titus" - shows how emperors were divine - Includes spandrels, which are triangular - Going inside the arch, you see reliefs; one of which the menorah relief (shows the Romans carrying equipment from the temple of Jerusalem, as well as Titus riding thru Jerusalem in triumph - Arc de trail modeled after this
AP 27 Anavysos kouros Ch 5.20 (https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/ancient-mediterranean-ap/greece-etruria-rome/v/anavysos-kouros)
- Female: kore/korai, always clothed - Male: kouros/kouroi, always nude - Stiff - marble - powerful and athletic body - from Anavayos, Greece in 530 BCE - documents artists increased interest in lifelike rendering - Pose, wiglike hair, and archaic smile echo earlier versions, however massive torso and limbs suggest heroic strength - Function: grave monument to a fallen hero who was slain by Ares, the god of war - Symbolic type, not a specific individual - Before the classical period in the archaic period, there were kore and kouros, the male and female figures that were set up by the elite Greek families as funerary markers
AP 40 Alexander Mosaic Ch 5.56
- Floor mosaic (many small tiles) - found in the House of Faun in Pompeii - Republican Roman - possibly based on a wall painting done in 315 B.C.E., Hellenistic Period by a greek artist named Philoxenos because it matches a description of the painting written by Pliny - found in the House of Faun which was the nicest mansion found in Pompeii which means it was a piece of art aristocrats would have invested in for perhaps their own enjoyment and for the enjoyment of guests - the subject matter is significant, it depicts the god-like (think about his breastplate)breastplate, powerful, strong historical figure, Alexander who like the Romans, wanted to conquer the world, and had qualities of strength and military genius which would have been admired by Romans -Alexander's conquest notably lead to the unification of Greece, a culture the Roman's respected and imitated, the mosaic would have been a symbol of this respect, and almost a source of inspiration - 100 BCE - Mosaic - Made of little tiles - Name of tile - Tesserae - depicts the Battle of Issus, between Alexander the Great and Darius III - Darius is the center - shows his frightened face Perisan Army vs Greek Army - It is depicted to show a calamity and exaggerate how the Persians are losing - excellent use of foreshortening in the horse -Foreshortening: used in art to reduce or distort (parts of a represented object that are not parallel to the picture plane) in order to convey the illusion of three-dimensional space as perceived by the human eye: often done according to the rules of perspective - Chaos - Expression in faces - Twisting intorsion of the bodies of horses and humans Connections: - Last judgment of Hu-Nefer (from his tomb) -Egyptian style greatly influenced Greek and Roman styles -Although this mural is on the floor, it is still reminiscent of Egyptian murals on walls, despite functions being different
Ch 2.14 Votive statue of Gudea
- Gudea portrayed as strong, peaceful, and divine ruler worthy of divine favor - Whether shown sitting or standing, he wears a long garment - provides smooth space long, cuneiform inscriptions - He holds a vessel in front of him, from which life-giving water flows into two streams - each filled with leaping fish - Text on his garment states that he dedicated himself, the statue, and its temple to the goddess Geshtinanna, the divine poet and interpreter of dreams - Sculptor emphasized the power of the human body - eyes, head, and smoothly muscled arms - Gudea's face is youthful and serene - Eyes - oversized and wide open - confront the gaze of the deity with concentration - From Girsu - 2090 BCE -
AP 43 Augustus of Prima Porta Ch 6.19
- Imperial Roman, Early first century C.E., 20 B.C.E - Marble - Promoting victory, peace, and blessing of God during his reign - Similar to DORYPHOROS - Augustus - the first emperor of Rome - Contrapposto stance, idealized and youthful figure - Classical Greece as opposed to veristic art - found in the villa of Livia (Augustus' wife), at Primaporta - Sculptures of him being victor statesman, priest... - free standing, sculpture in the round - cupid riding on a dolphin (to hold the structure up) - bas-relief carving on the breastplate - Breastplate called cuirass, sky god at top, tellus at the bottom, apollo on winged gryphon - Augustus' uncle Julius Caesar killed from assuming to much power - standing contrapposto - wearing army garb and has his hand out, not just an orator...he is addressing his troops who will go and conquer - perfect/flawless flake and body, athletic, young - unlike early Hellenistic statue he is very still, calm, and stately, with little movement - barefoot goes against typical statues of the time and makes it more naturalistic and divine wears a tunic which at this point in history was associated to the deified Julius Caesar - political significance, filled with Roman political ideology - idealized statue of him, very young and attractive - cupid is pulling down his garment at his ankle, symbolizing his own divine lineage, as he is related to Venus - Before him, emperor/leaders were 100% human - the cuirass, or breastplate depicts the god of the sky and the goddess of the Earth, divine convergence, on its sides, there are female personifications of the nations conquered by Rome (specifically by Augustus) - the sun god and sky god (Sol and Caelus) are at the top of the cuirass, and therefore shine down on all these parts of the empire spreading Roman glory and light - his prestige is awarded by the use of elements from Ancient Greece - served as a portrait of her husband considering it was found in her home - there would have been many bronze copies distributed around Rome and put in public places as a type of propaganda - the statues showed the positive qualities, what he looked like (no photos so commoners wouldn't even know what the Emperor looked like), it shows how he wanted to portray himself to the people in a godlike way - one scene on the breastplate depicts the Romans getting back their standards from the Parthians, showing Rome's superiority and power - "visual propaganda" demonstrating Augustus' military prowess and the Religion of Rome
Ch. 2.1 Stele of Naram-Sin
- It is a stele (upright stone slab) - 2250 BCE - time of the Akkadian Empire - From Sippar - present day Shush, Iran - Akkadian ruler Naram-Sin is portrayed (2254-2218 BCE) - Significance shown by size - Clasps a spear, battleax, bow and arrow - Wears a helmet with horns - Represents his divine rule - Limestone - This stele also tells the story of one of his military victories of Lullubi - Naram-Sin stands above a crowded scene filled with smaller figures Those to the left - dressed in a similar fashion - represent his army - marching into battle - Artist included native trees along the mountain pathway to increase the sense that this scene portrays an actual event - and not a generic battle - Before Naram-Sin - both along the right side of the stele and smashed under his striding leg, are representation of the enemy - in this case, the Lullubi people (Eastern Mesopotamia) - Companions behind & below Naram-Sin beg for mercy - Info: - In Mesopotamia, gods wore horns, so he is claiming divinity - in ancient Mesopotamia, male potency and vigor related to mythical heroism
Metropolitan kouros 5.18
- Kouros means youth - korous comes from Egyptian protoype - Archaic - Attica, Greece - Used as a grave marker: Not meant to look like the person who died, symbolized how "perfect" they were - Marble - 600 BCE - Has a similar expression and similar pose to Egyptian sculpture (sculpture of menkaure and queen) - "copying" them - Has no clothes, unlike Menkaure - Made of marble, sculpture of menkaure and queen made of greywacke - Stiff and upright - Similar to Egyptian sculptures b/c stiff and upright - Human is free standing - Archaic kourous are less lifelike than the Egyptian forebearers - Archaic smile - In Egyptian sculpture, males usually wore clothes corresponding to their status, however, this man is naked; which is unusual but accepted (was not accepted for women)
AP 47 Ludovisi Sarcophagus
- Late Imperial Rome - 250-260 CE - 25 different emperors, currency inflated, Rome in chaos - To solve this, Diocletian split the empire into two: west and east - Decided there would be 4 emperors to head them - Marble - Battle of Romand and barbarians - Sarcophagus is a stone coffin with decorative features - High relief - Figure buried is shown on the coffin - Romans portrayed as good guys because their features are more ideal compared to the barbarians - Not like classical, as people are piled on top of each other - The hero comes in on his horse, seems like a "sunburst" - Romans look stern and serious - Figure gets smaller as you look down - Not linear, organized perspective - Empire was unstable at this time, art represents it - Style is more complex, less interested in elegance of the human body
Seated scribe Saqqara AP15 3-10
- Much more relaxed than the pharaoh - Saqqara, Egypt - Fourth Dynasty, 2500 BCE - Not muscular - Painted limestone - Depicted doing a job - Eyes made of shells and gems - Created so the noble he serves has a scribe in the afterlife
Lamassu AP25 Ch 2.19
- Protective deities flanking the doors of Assyrian palaces - Ward off evil spirits - Guadrign spirits - Composite creature - Eagles wings, human headed bull, hooves, horns (spiritual) - Horn used in powerful things like anointing kings (shows power & war) - High relief - Included in the citadel of Sargon II - Found in Dur Sharrukin (modern-day Iraq) - 720-705 BCE - Gypsum alabaster (material) - Carved from a single block FUNCTION: - Guardian figures at the city and citadel gatessymbol of the king's poweralso architectural purpose to hold up an arch to enter the citadelProtective spiritual guardians were placed on either side of these entrances to act as guardians. They also had a strictly architectural function, as they bore some of the weight of the arch above An inscription on two panels between the hind legs of the bull: praises the ruler by rehearsing his virtues and calls down a curse on who ever should seek to harm the edifice. Symbols combining man, bull, and bird, they offered protection against enemies. INFO: - Assyrians (1000-500 BCE), Iraq Mesopotamia - constantly at war, being conquered by different people - Palace of Sargon II713 BC Sargon II founded his capital, Dur Sharrukin,
Seated Boxer AP41 (https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/greek-art/hellenistic/v/apollonius-boxer-at-rest-c-100-b-c-e)
- Rare Hellenistic Bronze original greek sculpture - It was created during the Hellenistic period (100BCE) - Which was the last phase of ancient Greek art right after alexander the great and before the Romans took over - During this Hellenistic period we see a real expansion of the subject matter that we usually think of as Greek art. Usually, we think about ideal, beautiful, nude, athletic, young figures. - This is an athletic figure, but he's not young and he's not beautiful in the traditional sense - The artist has been careful to make sure that we feel sympathy - This is the last phase of ancient Greek art because the Hellenistic will end when the Romans conquer Greece. - the sculpture is hollow - Breaking away from the traditional idealized, heroic, male nude - The seated boxer embodies the culture shift of the Hellenistic period - Lost wax casting (hollow cast) - Sitting was not common is ancient Greek art so this was a deliberate attempt to convey humility and informality - Muscular, powerful, and defeated - Process by which duplicate metal sculpture is cast from an original sculpture - Copper used to depict wounds on face and hands - Seated posture - Covering his head and face is bits of copper which posed next to the bronze resembles blood, covering his face and hands with wounds - By sitting with his torso collapsing inwards and his head down the look of defeat on his face is supplemented by this worn down posture - In contrast, his body is muscular and idealized, as typical ancient Greek art depicted men - Made in different sections that were then welded together - Some have identified him as the Boxer of Quirnal - Could be made to represent the culture of boxing in Ancient Greece - Represents the cultural shift of the Hellenistic period - Could have been a votive statue dedicated to a boxer
Dying Gaul 5.60
- Roman copy found in Julius Caesar's garden - Original bronze: 220 BCE - Gauls only known from Roman copies in marble - Shows the slow demise of a Celtic solider-trumpeter - spiked hair, mustache, and torc (only thing Gauls wore into battle) shows he is a barbarian (uncivil foreigner) - sculpture depicts heroism in defeat; inspiring pity and admiration - expressionism: looks to spark emotion
Doryphoros AP34 5-42
- Roman marble copy of a Greek bronze - Polykleitos was the best known theorist of the high classical period - developed set of rules for constructing the ideal human figure. created the Spear Bearer/dorphoros to illustrate his ideas - Male athlete, perfectly balanced - similar to Augustus sculpture @ prima porta - Dynamically balanced body pose, which is present in this art, is a High Classical characteristic - found in a palestra (a place for athletes to work out in) in Pompeii - one of the most copied Greek sculpture - everyone wanted Greek art because it was representative of a luxurious and leisurely life + they were super high quality - created at a time when the Greeks were in awe of the mathematical perfection of the human body - Polykleitos created a canon (a set of guidelines) outlining the ideal man based on ratios and measurements - naked = celebrates the nature human body, its beauty, and its strength - marks this as a Greek sculpture - one of the earliest examples of contrapposto (a graceful arrangement of the body based on tilted shoulders and hips and bent knees) - includes a strong a sense of harmony and counterbalancing: left arm and right leg = relaxed right arm and left leg = tensed - the face isn't individualized; he's made to depict everyone's ideal self - Function - for enjoyment: to showcase the beauty of the human body
Temple to Portunus Ch 6.18
- Shows eclecticism - influence of many cultures - Columns show Greek influence - Beside Tibres River - Republican Rome - Republican Rome was essentially a large city state, and an oligarchy under the senate - Perhaps dedicated to Potrnus, the god of harbors and ports - Utilized ETRUSCAN system of a rectangular cella and a front porch at one end reached by an inviting set of stairs - Utilized GREEK Ionic order with full columns on the porch and half-columns set in the wall (engaged) around the exterior walls and a continuous frieze in the entablature - Overall, resembles a Greek temple, however, 1) Roman architects liberated the form of the column from its post and lintel roots and engaged it on the surface of the wall as a decorative feature. 2) While Greek temples encourages people to walk around and admire its uniformly articulated sculptural mass, Roman temples are defined in relation to its interior faces - Frontal orientation shows eutruscan - Material is neither greek nor eutruscan - made of concrete (roman innovation)
AP 36 Grave Stele of Hegeso (https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/ancient-mediterranean-ap/greece-etruria-rome/v/hegeso-stele)
- Stele (upright slabs with relief sculptures) (like a modern day gravestone) - Marble and paint - function: gravestones - 410 B.C.E., marble and paint, from the Dipylon Cemetary, Athens, - At the end of the fifth century BC, the end of the very brief period that we call the high classical moment, there was a resurgence of funerary sculpture in Athens - Hegeso is the woman who is shown seated opening a box of jewelry presented to her by her servant and examining a necklace, which is no longer there, but which was once represented in paint. - Women in ancient Greece led very circumcribed lives that were defined by their relationships with men. First their fathers and then their husbands. - So this is a style that resembles very closely the kind of carving that we see on the figures on the Parthenon Frieze. Drapery that very closely follows the form of the body that creates elaborate folds and swirls that have a visual interest in their own right. The drapery that bunches up between her two arms and around her belly and between her breasts are beautiful passages of sculpting.
AP 46 Pantheon Ch 6.49, 6.52
- Temple to Mars, Venus, and Julius Caesar - Constructed during Hadrian and Trajan, but inscription says it was built by Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius - nowadays, we step down to reach the Pantheon, but this is because the street level of Roma has risen through the years--originally would have risen above the street - almost all of it is mathematically proportioned--for example, the columns on the interior line up perfectly with the fake windows on top of them, but these do not line up with the coffers of the dome, which gives the effect that the dome is independent from the barrel - best preserved ancient roman monument - synthesis of tradition and innovation - the Pantheon was commissioned by the Emperor Hadrian c. 125 AD (new info suggests it may have been started by Trajan before him) - representative of the Roman advance in architecture (mainly caused by the use of concrete that allowed spaces to open up) that a building could shape the space - most influential building in architecture in the Renaissance - replaced Commander Marcus Agrippa's pantheon that rested in the same place - pantheon isa hemispherical dome with oculus - Corinthian columns in front are monolithic, made from marble - Corinthian: last developed, most ornate of the orders imported from Egypt - the porch: rectilinear upon entry, the space opens up into a curvilinear, radial interior - structural system looks like it is based on a series of intersecting arches-eight in total, all where statues of deities would have been housed on the interior structural system is actually dependent on concrete - the concrete would have been built on wooden forms, which where then removed after the concrete dried - this allowed Romans to create vast interior spaces the barrel is made from concrete, travertine, and tufa and the walls are made from brick and concrete lighter materials used at the top of the dome barrel=terrestrial, dome=divine 141 feet tall -originally used as a temple to the gods, then made into a church - Emperor Hadrian would hold court inside the Pantheon - originally contained sculptures of the gods and deified emperors, focused on the divine
Menkaure and Queen AP18 3-9
- Very stiff - Giza - 4th Dynasty - Menkaure's fists are clenched and hold ritual cloth rolls - Wears traditional false beard & headdress - 2490-2472 BCE - Queen is probably Khamerebty II - Greywacke w red and black paint - discovered in menkaure's valley temple - Act as one bc they are so close, her hand is around him, and the similar size - Egtptian ideals: -young, athletic, nude to waist, wearing royal kilt - conventional, balanced pose with left foot striding forward, arms at sides - She is taking a smaller step forward - Double Statue - time consuming task of polishing back never completed, so may have been undertaken near his death Communicates the divinity & absolute power of the ruler Likely emerged from a niche in a memorial structure Made them seem as if they were striding out of the building Highlights enduring power & influence of pharaohs Hierarchy of scale further emphasizes his power over the Egyptian people Paint may have been intended to slowly wear away, gradually revealing the black stone and their ultimate transformation into Osiris Although queen is an essential figure of the structure, its purpose was to ensure that Menkaure would successfully reach the afterlife Similar to Tamati Waka Nene and Obas plaque
Athenian agora AP26 5.47
- Was a marketplace - 600-150 BCE - Public buildings, no temples - Public discussion, commercial and social life revolved around the agora Athenian Agroa @ the foot of the acropolis - By 400 BCE, included a drainage system, religious and administrative structures, and a small racetrack - Council met in a building here - private houses surrounded agora (in this time, private houses were rarely more than simple rectangles) - Agoras common to all Greek city states
AP 28 Peplos Kore Ch 5.21 (https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/ancient-mediterranean-ap/greece-etruria-rome/v/peplos-kore)
- dated same s=time as anavysos kore (530 bce) - from the Akropolis, near Athens - bare arms and head convey a sense of soft flesh covering a real bone structure - hair and smile less stylized - she is a votive rather than a funerary statue - she has rounded body forms like the anavysos kore, however, she is clothed - peplos is what people argued she was wearing, however it has recently been argued she is wearing a sheathlike garmet - perhaps a goddess, as she is originally painted with a frieze of animals - maybe Artemis or Athena - missing arm would have provided more info - Before the classical period in the archaic period, there were kore and kouros, the male and female figures that were set up by the elite Greek families as funerary markers
AP 23 Tutankhamen's Tomb Ch 3.1, 3.29
- from the valley of kings - 18th dynasty - 1332-1322 BCE - gold inlaid with glass - sarcophagus - inner chamber of Tut's tomb never plundered & riches same as when buried - Identified him with Osiris, god of the dead, with symbols like crook and a flail (traditional part of royal regalia) - blue braided beard on chin - Richest coffin is the intermost - Nekhbet and Wadjet, vulture and cobra goddess of upper and lower Egypt - The sarcophagus was meant to preserve and protect the pharaoh in the afterlife - pharaoh = god like | The gods were thought to have skin of gold, bones of silver, and hair of lapis lazuli - king is shown here in his divine form in the afterlife - He also wears a false beard that further connects him to the image of a god
Laocoon 5.64
- hellenistic original from first century BCE - It is a marble copy of a bronze sculpture - Man in the middle is the priest Laocoon from troy They are being attacked by sea serpents send from a god - Being punished because they suspect the trojan horse may be a trick, and Gods want the trojan plan to work (either Athena or Posedion). Laocoon warned Trojans not to bring the horse into their walls; greek gods revenged - Similar to the great altar of zeus and athena @ pergamon - Found in Rome - Found the remaining part of his arm (in someone's yard) - Movement & contortion, emotion and competing lines (diagonal, vertical, horizontal)
Temple of Athena Nike (acropolis)
- high classical - dedicated to Athena (in her role as a victor in war, not as a virgin as she is a war goddess) - unique design; columns are not doric columns in the parthenon - Ionic columns (have a scroll/volute at the top) - Uninterpted frieze: ionic design (in doric temple, there are triglyphs and a square metipede) - commemorates the victor of Athens @ the persona war (against all odds) - Athens was a big part, as they created a navy that did well - Designed by Kallikrates (he and Ictinus created Parthenon) - Nike Adjusting Sandal (in the temple of athena nike) - wet drapery - 410 BCE - Acropolis - adjusting sandal to see how the folds of the garment work - would be on the wall of the temple Athena Nike - would look up from the parapet - wings echo and frame torso's curve
Ashurbanipal's Lion Hunt Ch 2.17
- likely a ceremonial hunt - King would go back and forth killing animals in an enclosed area - Marks a shift on Mesopotamian art; from timeless solemnity to dramatic, emotionally driven involvement - 875-860 BCE - Alabaster - palace complex of Ashurbanipal II - Glorifies ruler - Alabaster bas-relief from the North Palace at Nineveh, modern day Iraq - Neo Assyrian period - King's dominance over lions symbolizes subjugation of enemies Ashurbanipal also collected 20,000 cuneiform tablets Lion hunts were a pastime for kings (arena hunting)
Step Pyramid of Saqqara 3-3
- limestone - Stepped pyramid and mortuary precinct - built for Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt - Djosser (Djoser was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 3rd Dynasty during the Old Kingdom) was the first to build huge monuments in stone - Built by Imhotep - initially planned for Djoser's tomb to be a single story mastaba, only later deciding to enlarge upon the concept - Though step pyramids resemble the ziggurats of Mesopotamia, it differs in meaning (signyfying a stairway to the sun god Ra) and purpose ( protecting a tomb) - Third Dynasty - 2630-2575 BCE - Djosser built the Stepped Pyramid (this is the art) - made of limestone - Protected carefully, entire thing was looted besides one little statue of Imhotep - Egyptians invented columns - not Greeks.
Arch of Constantine Ch 6.65, 6.66
- next to colloseum - senate built it to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius - Dwarfs the nearby arch of titus - triple arched monument - Rome. 312-315 BCE - Beginning in the late 3rd century, the Roman Empire was ruled by four co-emperors (two senior emperors and two junior emperors), in an effort to bring political stability after the turbulent 3rd century. But in 312 C.E., Constantine took control over the Western Roman Empire by defeating his co-emperor Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge (and soon after became the sole ruler of the empire). The inscription on the arch refers to Maxentius as the tyrant and portrays Constantine as the rightful ruler of the Western Empire. Curiously, the inscription also attributes the victory to Constantine's "great mind" and the inspiration of a singular divinity. The mention of divine inspiration has been interpreted by some scholars as a coded reference to Constantine's developing interest in Christian monotheism. - Perhaps the most striking feature of the Arch is its eclectic and stylistically varied relief sculptures. Some aspects of the sculpture are quite standard, like the Victoria (or Nike) figures that occupy the spandrels above the central archway or the typical architectural moldings found in most imperial Roman public and religious architecture (below). - Other sculpted elements, however, show a multiplicity of styles. In fact, most scholars accept that many of the sculptures of the arch were spolia (the reuse of building stone or decorative sculpture on a new monument) taken from older monuments dating to the 2nd century C.E. Although there is some scholarly disagreement on the origins of the sculptures, their imperial style corresponds to those of the reigns of Trajan (ruled 98-117 C.E.—the figures surmounting the decorative columns), Hadrian (ruled 117-138 C.E.—the middle register roundels), and Marcus Aurelius (ruled 161-180 C.E.—the large panel reliefs on the top registers). Most of the reliefs feature the emperors participating in codified activities that demonstrate the ruler's authority and piety by addressing troops, defeating enemies, distributing largesse, and offering sacrifices.
Mortuary Temple Hatshepsut (2) AP21 3-21, 22
- temple itself made in the 11th dynasty - Besides Hatshepsut, few women served in powerful positions - temple built-in 1473-1458 BC - Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut is cut into the stone of the cliff-side - done purposefully to increase the perceived power of a structure by making it seem as though it is almost a part of nature and holds the stability of the mountainside itself - we can see aspects of symmetry as well as the use of columns (Egyptians didn't know how else to hold up a roof!) - Kneeling Statue is made from granite, which is very durable - is also very large at almost nine feet tall (would impress any viewer, especially because it would be placed with a number of other large statues depicting the queen) -Kneeling Statue depicts Queen Hatshepsut in a kneeling position - she was one of the only, and most powerful, female pharaohs -though we can tell that she is female, she has many male physical features: her breasts are de-emphasized, she has the classic beard of the pharaohs, and wears the royal male headdress - her masculine depiction is consistent with the upkeep of continuity and stability for Egyptian rulers (there is no word for "queen" in Egyptian--she truly saw herself as a king) - different style than other Egyptian statues--her kneeling position humanizes her, and she is depicted in offering, most likely to a deity FUNCTION: - Mortuary Temple was a funerary shrine to Queen Hatshepsut - was a place for people to go and appreciate her power by looking at all of the different statues of her especially important because she was female, so she had to work extra hard to establish her authority - meant to help her in her journey to the afterlife people could pray to the gods "housed" in the temple statues impressed upon people Hatshepsut's power and piety
White Temple of Uruk AP12 Ch 2.2
- two large temple complexes in the 1000 acre city @ Uruk marked the first independent city state - One was dedicated to Inanna, goddess of love and war, and the other belonged to Any, the sky god - temple of anu was built in stages over centuries - white temple - Sumerian. c. 3500-3000 B.C.E. Mud brick. - Inside the White temple: - north, east and west chambers have staircases - chambers in middle of northeast room had wooden shelves and (possibly) a solid door - north end of central hall had a podium (accessible through a staircase) - north end of central hall had altar with fire-stained surface Function: - Used for both government and religion (theocratic) - used for rituals and sacrifices (leopard and lion bones) - fire pit - altar - scribes found / tablets found - signifies centralized authority - both god and government in one building
AP 39 House of the Vettii (3) Ch 6.27, 6.28
INFO - Atrium = large space with an impulvium (pool for catching rain - Vestibule = entrance - Peristyle = planted courtyard enclosed by columns - Domus: roman townhouse - Atrium: large centralized reception hall in a Roman house - Fauces: narrow doorway into a house off the street - Alae: the wings flanking the atrium in a traditional Roman house - Cubicula: bedrooms bounding the alae (wings) of a Roman house - Tablinum: office of the head of house, located within the house - Paterfamiliae: head of a household - Pars urbana: the public part of a household - Pars rustica: the private part of the household contains courtyard, kitchen, dining room, and small garden.) - Oecus: dining room - Culina: kitchen - Hortus: small garden - Arca: lockboxes used for storing valuables in Roman houses, often placed on display in atrium - Impluvium: basin for collecting rain water - Townhouse (domus) in Pompeii, Italy - Preserved by the Mt. Vesuvius eruption in 79 CE - Romans fancied interior over exterior - Finest paintings found in the House of Vetii - house built in conformity to the axial house plan - Homeowners were wealthy freed slaves, Vettius Conviva and Vettius Restitutus PAINTING: - First Pompeiian StyleDuring Rome's Republic period, which ended in 27 CEOriginated from 3rd century Hellenistic AlexandriaColorful, brightly painted walls of faux-marble (ordinary Romans couldn't afford real marble, so they imitated)Each marble was connected by stucco, giving a 3D effect.Used to decorate walls in ordinary Romans' homes - Second Pompeiian StyleFirst seen c. 80 BCE, popular until 100 CEIncorporated elements of First style, such as faux-marbles at the bases of wallsAttempted to create optical illusion of looking through a window. Created depth using columns, stoa, and buildings. Creates a sense of motion and depth using many vanishing points. Action taking place in paintings is meant to envelop and involve the viewer - Third Pompeiian StyleEarly 1st century CE. Flat planes of color, like red, incised with minute details. Art depicted everyday objects Feature small landscapes. Introduced Egyptian imagery, including the Nile and Egyptian motifs and deities. - Fourth Pompeiian Style. Popularized around 50 CE. Combination of the first 3 styles. Faux-marble blocks line bases of walls (1st)Naturalistic architectural depictions (2nd)Flat planes of color and minute details (3rd)Introduced central panel pictures, but on a much larger scale. Developed by eccentric painter named Famulus (designed Emperor Nero's Golden Palace)Seen best in House of Vettii
AP 17 Great Pyramid, Sphinx Ch 3.4 - 3.6
PYRAMIDS: - first erected in the fourth dynasty - angles sides may have been made to represent the slanting rays of the sun (for inscriptions show kings in 5th and 6th dynasty going up to the sun god ra) - when a king died, his body would be floated west across the nile to his valley temple Pyramid of Khufu (oldest): - tallest of the three pyramids (481 ft) - Function: burial site for King Khufu - Content: King/queen's chambers. King's sarcophagus. 7 boats Pyramid of Khafre: - lotus and papyrus plants symbolize rule over lower snd upper egypt - Second tallest of the three (but actually looks the tallest because it's on higher ground) - best preserved - Function: burial site for King Khafre -Content: a burial chamber, a small chamber, 2 passagewaysStill has some of the outer casing on top. Valley Temple Held over 52 statues of the king Pyramid of Menkaure: - smallest of the three (213 ft) -Function: burial site for King Menkaure - Content: most complex chambers of the three pyramids. held Menkaure's black stone sarcophagus; But then they lost that. held many triad statues of the King, Hathor, and a nome INFO: - All three of Giza's famed pyramids and their elaborate burial complexes were built during a frenetic period of construction, from roughly 2550 to 2490 B.C. - The pyramids were built by Pharaohs Khufu (tallest), Khafre (background), and Menkaure (front). Pyramids first erected in the fourth dynasty (2575-2450 BCE) - Angled sides may have been meant to represent the slanting rays of the sun, for inscriptions on the walls built in the 5th and 6th dynasties showing kings climbing up the rays to join the sun god Ra - Though not the first pyramids built, the three Great Pyramid Tombs @ Giza are the most well known - built by three successive kings of the fourth dynasty: Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure - Oldest and largest pyramid is that of Khufu - Originally finished with a thick veneer of polished limestone - Site was planned to follow the sun's east west path - Next to each pyramid was a funerary temple connected by a causeway to a valley temple on the bank of the Nile - When a king died, body was ferried west across the Nile from the royal palace to his valley temple in bank of Nile - Body was entombed in a deep vault w/in the pyramid - protected by 50 ton stone block - Most of the stone used in building the Giza complex was quarried either onsite or nearby - Transported them via muscle - pouring water to create mud & slippery platform - Still debates over how they were constructed - Efficient way to get stones in place might've been building a temporary ramp around the body of the pyramid as it grew higher - Great Sphinx - Khafre's funerary complex is the best preserved - Most famous for the Great Sphinx that sits behind the Khafre's valley temple - Colossal portrait of the king (65 ft) combines his head with the long body of a lion \, merging human intelligence and animal strength
Temple of Rameses at Abu Simbel p. 74 - 75
RAMSES: - Under Ramses (19th dynasty) Egypt was a mighty empire - good at propoganda; could turn defeat into victory - Secured peace with an agreement with the Hittities - initiated building projects rivaling pyramids at Giza - Located at Abu Simbel - multiple states of himself, flanked by smaller statues of family members, including his principal wife Nefertari - inside the temple, numerous status of the god Osiris with the god-king Ramses show, eludicating his divinity -
AP 31 Temple of Minerva (3) & sculpture of Apollo Ch 6.3, 6.4
TEMPLE: - Original temple of wood, mud brick, or tufa (volcanic rock); terra cotta sculpture - Tufa, terra cotta - Etruscan - city of Veii _ May have been made by Vulca - Doric columns - High podium and frontal entrance → different from Greek temples - Made of wood (all Etruscan temples were), NOT** made from stone (unlike Greek temples) - The temple itself is completely dilapidated, only the model and the floor plan remain accurate and interpretable information - Around 600 B.C.E., the desire to create monumental structures for the gods spread throughout Etruria, most likely as a result of Greek influence. While the desire to create temples for the gods may have been inspired by contact with Greek culture, Etruscan religious architecture was markedly different in material and design. These colorful and ornate structures typically had stone foundations but their wood, mud-brick, and terracotta superstructures suffered far more from exposure to the elements - In addition to their internal organization and materials, what also made Etruscan temples noticeably distinct from Greek ones was a high podium and frontal entrance. Approaching the Parthenon with its low rising stepped entrance and encircling forest of columns would have been a very different experience from approaching an Etruscan temple high off the ground with a single, defined entrance. - Was dedicated to the goddess Minerva (Athena) - Demonstrates an Etruscan assimilation of Greek gods SCULPTURE: - abundant terracotta sculpture that still remains - Originally placed on the ridge of temple roof, these figures seem to be Etruscan assimilations of Greek gods, set up as a tableau to enact some mythic event - Apollo of Veii: - rom the roof of the Portonaccio Temple, Veii, Italy, 510-500 B.C.E., painted terra-cotta - he most famous and well-preserved of these is the Apollo of Veii, a dynamic, striding masterpiece of large-scale terracotta sculpture and likely a central figure in the rooftop narrative. Has the ARCHAIC SMILE - Striding forward - GREEK VS ETRUSCAN: - Similar - Well developed body and archaic smile show that Etruscans were aware of the Greek kouroi - Different - Unlike the naked kouroi, Apollo's body concealed with robe. Apollo is also walking forward, something not evident in the still Kouroi
Dying Warriors 5.13 - 5.15
West Pediment from Aegina: - No exterior sculpture @ Aegina (background) - Triangular pediments in Greek temples made it difficult for sculptors trying to fit figures in the tampering spaces at the outride corners (background) - West Pediment dated about 500-490 BCE, before its eastern counterpart - Represents a creative design that became the standard - Subject is rendered in 3D, shows the participation of local warriors in the military expedition vs troy
Temple of Amun-Re, Karnak (3) AP20 3-18, 19, 20
page 66 https://sites.google.com/site/adairarthistory/ii-ancient-mediterranean/20-temple-of-amun-re-and-hypostyle-hall