Comparative Study: Greek and Indian Artwork

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I visited the Minneapolis Institute of Art November 11, 2015 to study works of art in person and to consider how these works are displayed in a museum setting verses how they were originally intended to be seen. I will be comparing certain works of art from Greece and India, to other pieces if artwork found in Understanding Art 10th Edition by Fichner-Rathus.
The first piece of art I will be discussing is a sculpture by an unknown artist called Crouching Lion, made in Greece around 330-317 B.C. Approximate dimensions of the Crouching Lion are 29’’ tall x 48’’ wide. It is made of Pentelic marble. “Although the ancient Greeks used a variety of animals, including bulls, griffins and lions, to decorate tombs, lions were the most popular, typically functioning as guardian figures,” (MIA placard). The Crouching Lion was created during “The Classical period in Greek sculpture, ending in 323 B.C. with the death of Alexander the Great, emphasized accuracy of physical details, as shown here in the veins and musculature of the feline body” (Crouching Lion), “and ends in 31 BC with the conquest of the last Hellenistic kingdom by Rome, the Lagid kingdom of …show more content…

No. 13-19). These two pieces of art are use were used to decorate tombs, although Female Idol was placed inside tombs, and were both made out of a type of marble. There was roughly a 1670 year difference between the pieces of art, with the large time gap I thought there would be more disable differences. “The breasts, abdomen, and pubic area were more defined than the limbs and head,” of Female Idol (Fichner-Rathus). The Crouching Lion on the other hand, is much more made to scale, along with appropriate proportions. The Crouching Lion symbolizes and functions as a guardian figure, whereas Female Idol purpose was unknown; some argue that it represents goddesses, while others believe it has to do with

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