The transition from Roman paganism to the Judeo Christian empires of the medieval period led to changing of many things. One thing that stayed constant is the idea of control using art and architecture. Both Roman and Judeo Christian cultures utilized this concept of propaganda, but in many cases used different materials and symbols. In addition, they both depicted the interaction between humans and animals or humans and nature was different.
In the creation of propaganda the materials used play an important in the message being sent. The material being used should be one that conveys something of strength and longevity as this was the sign of a good leader. This is seen in propaganda dating back to the Arkadian civilization in the Akkadian Ruler, 2250-2200 BC, cast bronze all the way to the Romans in the Augustus of Primaporta, 20 BC, Marble copy of Bronze Original, 6’8” tall, Roman Sculpture. These Pieces made or originally made of cast bronze which is a strong and tough metal that is able to survive many years. The Romans also constructed large monument that act as propaganda, like the Arch of Titus, Rome, 81 AD, Roman Triumphal Arch. This arch is made from concrete a strong building material that can last long period and allow for the projection of the idea that the leader it was created by is or was a strong leader whose influence will last as long as the monument itself. Some Christian Propaganda use this an example being the Charlemagne, 800, Bronze, 9” tall, Carolingian Sculpture which like the previously mentioned Arkadian and Roman pieces is made of bronze which is important as Charlemagne looked back to Rome specifically Constantine as his predecessor. In addition the use of bronze is important to communicate his ...
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...orned with the symbols of gods and goddess of Roman mythology and is being supported by Cupid, a god who Augustus claimed to be related to. All of the symbols used to portray Augustus not just a strong Military and political leader, but that his power comes from the gods. Much like the Statue of Augustus Judeo Christian Emporers used symbols to portray their power. An example of this is Otto III Receiving Homage, Dedication Page, Aachen Gospels of Otto, German, 997-1000 AD, Ottonian Illuminated Manuscript, which shows Otto III an Ottonian Emporers who is depicted holding a Lascaux ,which act as his baton of power and an orb which show that he has control over the Christian world. He is also dressed in gold and purple two colors which represent wealth and royalty. In addition he is surround by both military and religious figures which represent his pillars of power.
History plays a very important role in the development of art and architecture. Over time people, events, and religion, have contributed to the evolution of art. Christianity has become a very common and well established religion, however, in the past it was hidden and a few people would worship this religion secretly. Gradually, Christianity became a growing religion and it attracted many converts from different social statuses. Christian art was highly influenced by the Greco-Romans, but it was immensely impacted by the establishment of the Edict of Milan in the year 313 AD. The Edict of Milan was so significant that scholars divide Christian art into two time periods, time before and after the Edict of Milan of 313.
Augustus’s statue portrayed him as an individualistic faction leader and tended to be more idealistic. For example, although he did start ruling as a youth, at the age of 18, his face was, continually, throughout his life, shown with youthfulness and vibrancy. He also had an archetypal body type of a hero and is shown with the omission of his boots, a reference to the ideal heroic statue. Lastly, there is a dolphin riding Cupid at his ankle which reminded the viewer that he was of divine descent. However, there was a limit to which he could exalt himself. He could not promote his individual character and will above the Roman public which would call for distrust and resentment.
During WW1, the Americans had influenced the war by propaganda. Propaganda is when you spread rumors to influence society. Propaganda was used to affect Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. In Germany propaganda was used to give the soldiers morals and people with false information that was sent by balloons or planes. In America propaganda was used to persuade other Americans to join the war against Germany. In Great Britain, propaganda was meant to convince men into joining the war and for people to save food for the war effort.
Words and images were silent weapons used by all governments involved during World War II. Wars are generally fought between soldiers, but the different ideologies often meet on the battlefield as well. The support of the people is crucial during these times since it general knowledge that strength relies on numbers. Propaganda targets people’s emotions and feelings and changes people’s perception about a particular idea, people or situation. Propaganda goes hand in hand with the art of persuasion and convincing; these tools can control and manipulate the collective minds of massive amount of its audience. During World War II, for instance, the elements of war were taken from the location of the military fights and brought to the households of millions of families. Advertising has the power to sell ideas, to give or take away hope, and to boosts people´s morale; the ideas that were presented to the public through propaganda are immortal, they linger in the nation’s memory. Images often displayed in posters and pamphlets during war time, were an essential factor to gain peoples support and trust, images attract people’s attention with more efficiency than word. It is an effective mean to attract attention; it I said that images speak louder than words and this case is not the exception. Media, during World War II, was the catalyst which increased the magnitude of the issue that was being confronted. This event left a mark in our history since its objective was to generate hatred between ethnics. It is in our nature, the human nature, to take our own culture as a point of reference to judge others, this is a phenomenon called ethnocentrism and it is fuelled bye prejudice and stereotyping. Throughout history whenever technologically...
the account of what it was produced for. Also the fact that one of the
And just like the Greek the statue are both big and almost human size. A great example of this is the “Augustus of Primaporta, 1st century C.E. (Vatican Museums).” It truly shows the evolution of art sculpting. It is a full size very detailed sculpture of Augustus. It very detailed from his hair showing every curl and split to the small details in his armor that also depicts a story as well is shows the god of the sky looking down on him and the goddess of the earth looking up towards him as they watch the Parthians surrender to him and returning the standards shows the great power that Augustus has, and not just that but also the sculpture itself is a symbol for how Augustus wanted everyone to see him as, as god like. And it even has a little small cupid on the side which is also detailed which shows that Augusts is decedent from a
...eligious practices. Christianity affected not only the Roman Empire but many other countries as well, altering their practices and making way for worship in the present day.
During World War II propaganda was ubiquitous. It consisted of a wide range of carriers including leaflets, radio, television, and most importantly posters. Posters were used based on their appeal: they were colorful, creative, concise, and mentally stimulating. Posters often portrayed the artist's views on the war. They demonstrated the artist concern for the war, their hopes for the war, and reflected the way enemies were envisioned. Posters also show a nations political status: they reflect a nations allies and enemies, how the nation saw itself, and its greatest hopes and fears of the war.
When dystopias are mentioned, books like Aldous Huxley's A Brave New World come to mind, but no one ever thinks of modern, popular religions. The goal of these books are to warn the modern society of what could go wrong if it keeps behaving like it is by exaggerating the flaws of the modern society. Scientology is a fairly new religion that has gained many followers over the past decade because of its illusion of a utopia, but it is also exactly what Huxley and Orwell are warning about in their books. Like A Brave New World, The church of scientology started off with good intentions, but over time all the rules and beliefs have turned out to be corrupt and unfair. Utopias like in A Brave New World and Scientology often become dystopias because
As Roman grew wealthy, Roman aristocrats began to make portraits from stone rather than wax. Yet despite this relative change they maintained their preference from accuracy over artistic expression with the rapid raised or the empire, there was a shark reduction of this trend, not so much in the number of statues which actually stated to increased dramatically but in the amount of people to be represented in a statue. Instead of statue of statesmen, the status now portrays emperors. Later emperors such as emperor Nero would erect similar statues of themselves around their empire.
Here, we will be looking at a rendition of the high marble statue of Augustus Caesar known as “Augustus of Prima Porta.” Originating from 1st Century A.D., it is said that there is a possibility that the original sculpture could have been of greek descent. Upon a general overview of the sculpture, one can see that Augustus fulfils a millitarial role of some kind. From his very stance to the garments portrayed on him, Augustus is draped in a decorative cuirass and a tunic, accompanied by a figure of Cupid clutching on to his right calf. After taking the general themes of the work into account, one can then began to start unraveling the many symbolic elements embedded into the sculpture that allude to godly themes. Starting from the crown of his head, the very chiselment and structure of his face gives the work a youthful element to it, even though some say that Augustus was around 40 years old. A recurring theme within Greek and Roman culture is the matter of godliness and immortality amongst idolized figures themselves. This idea is usually depicted by displaying powerful human being in a younger light. This
Thesis: Propaganda was a tool that leaders used to get people involved in wars of the past.
When walking around a city, you may notice that the architecture and art look similar to other works. Many of these designs have changed along the course of history and time whilst others have not. The designs that many people still see in society and day to day living is from two of the many cultures of the old civilizations, Roman and Islamic. The art and architecture forms from the Islamic and Roman cultures have many comparisons and contrasts between them. They, the Islamic and Roman nations, have both adopted from other cultures and have made their own discoveries in the art and architecture worlds. The Roman and Islamic architecture and art vary drastically from each other and yet have varying comparisons between the two.
Zanker, Paul. The power of images in the Age of Augustus. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1988. (P. 158 ~ 159)
Propaganda is very important issue in our society. The word "propaganda" however, has a very negative connotation. This may happen because people tend to associate it with "the enormous campaigns that were waged by Hitler and Stalin,' (Delwiche 2002). Now propaganda has a different face.