The visual qualities of Shiva with Parvati (Uma-Mahesvara), a high-relief stone stele from central India dating from the 10th -11th century, create a celestial and divine mood which is used to represent prominent figures from Hindu belief and portray them to the viewer. The stele utilizes compositional balance, repeated cyclical elements and stylized forms in order to create a relationship between the viewer and the piece, exhibiting themes of unity, love, fertility, and devotion which correspond to the subject matter. Shiva and his wife Parvati are portrayed engaging in an embrace while the figures of other Hindu gods and their children surround them. The following analysis will pertain almost exclusively to the physical elements of the …show more content…
The piece is vertically balanced and unified; if an imaginary line were to be drawn dividing the left side of the piece from the right in the middle, it would do so directly between the intimate faces of Shiva and Parvati, who are embracing in the center of the piece. Although not displaying perfect symmetry, each element of one side is balanced by the other; Shiva’s largeness surrounds Parvati instead of overpowering her for this reason. Their faces are extremely close, with their limbs tangled, and upon first glance, it is difficult to assign their interlocking arms to their original owners, further exemplifying this idea of unity through the stylization of the piece. The lovers receive the focus of the piece not only by their placement, but also by their relative enlargement, demonstrating a use of hieratic scale. They tower above above their children and other Hindu gods which ‘bless’ them from above; these other figures are organized in crowded, tiered structures which are upheld by no visible foundation and create a floating sense of chaos and unearthliness. These secondary figures in the piece frame Shiva and Parvati, further directing the viewer to the couple, which appear to exist apart from the piece as a whole; the lovers are connected to the ground of the scene, staring into each others eyes instead of acknowledging the viewer or other
India has produced provocative (From Western standards) sculptures, from Mithuna the Hindu, representation of male and female sculpture locked in a passionate embrace. During the time period of 500 through the 1300 CE, Hindu temple architecture, and sculpture reached new levels of imagination and complexity. A great example would be the Mithuna couple showed in a tight hug with the female leg crossed over the males arms wrapped around each other, and what appears to be the couple kissing, which on western standards, would exhibit a state of an erotic pose. India’s artistic ability’s showed an advanced style, when it produced the marvelous Shiva Nataraja, Lord of the dance, from southern India, Chola period, eleventh century, Bronze height 5ft surrounded by a ring of fire, Shiva dances the eternal rhythms of the universe, birth , death, and rebirth. This sculpture too, not one of eroticism, just magnificent with a women dancing inside a ring of fire, the overall size, just added to the statue, and present of this piece of art. Hindu devotional practices elevate, and promote a sculpture, to an individual’s state of looking or gazing at God’s image; Hinduism holds that God is present in its representations, thus visual contact with a sculpture is like viewing the divine. This is referred to as darshan (Literally, “seeing and being seen by the God”) the very act of beholding the image is an act of worship. Gothic design with its flare, when thinking about sculptures it leads you to the grotesque’s gargoyles waterspouts, these were grotesque figures or hybrid beasts that adorn the rooftops or flying buttresses of the Gothic cathedrals, and were said to ward off evil. The one’s adorning Notre Dame , in Paris are astonishing , Whe...
Parvana is a girl living in Afghanistan, which is under Taliban rule at the moment. She was forced out of her school, just because she was a girl. When this story starts, we see Parvana sitting on a rug in the marketplace with her father. Her father reads letters to those who can’t read. Parvana lives with her mother, father, sisters, and younger brother. One night, the Taliban come to her house and take away her father. He was the bread winner of the family, hence the name. He was the only one who could make money for his family. Her younger brother, Ali, couldn’t get money for them, because he was too young. She choose to go out and get some Nan (flat bread) for her family. She got chased by a Taliban soldier, and met an old teacher. The teacher, Mrs. Weera,
By examining two famous sculptures the Amenemhat II and Hercules it can be seen they both share similar traits but are culturally, religiously and historically different and their sculptures made sure to establish their religious, cultural and political views their their creations.
The right side is almost purely white, with blue and gray shadows; the rest of the body is black, dark brown, and navy. The profile of a white woman obscures the left half of the black face, facing to the right of the piece; her hair is in a large braid and she wears a simple pearl earring. The black woman has long, flowing, bright blue hair, as well as full red lips. The black woman’s body has a rose over it, and the white woman is wearing what looks like a straw bikini; the figure is wrapped in a thick rope from the waist down. The stark contrast between the white and black meet with a definitive line; there is no blending between the two colors, which amplifies the feelings of separation and difference between the two halves of the woman’s
When beginning my sketch, I took a moment to analyze the work of art and found that the statue illuminated a sense of serenity. Like most viewers my initial reaction was to explore the statue from head to toe as I sought out the different elements and principles of art. The statue was close to life-size and just about my height, so looking straightforward we were eye to eye. I noticed the softness gathered about the facial structure, but all the same time the depth and complexity that was engulfed around the muscularity of the body. The rigorous symmetry was accounte...
The most emphasized part of this image is the man lying on top of the child and leaning against the bed, part of the body being directly in the center and seems to take up the most space, this is where the eye tends to linger. The negative space is made interesting by including a turned over chair, and rumpled sheets on a bed and other homely objects, which indicates that this is set in a home. The contrast that is shown in this artwork is through the use of value since Daumier used implied light, the brighter and darker areas create a contrast against each other. While this piece is not symmetrically balanced, it is balanced asymmetrically. It is asymmetrically balanced through a man and most of a bed being placed in the center, on the right is a small child, the upper torso of an older looking man, a chair next to him, and the rest of the bed; on the left of the man is most of what seems to be a woman, and other less detailed furniture. There is a sense of repetition through the positive shapes of the people lying on the floor, this is also shown through the use of line that creates the entire lithograph. This provides a sense of cohesiveness and unity throughout the
...social values of rich stones resembled their higher standards of living in those days. Also, two different types of art based on Indian culture and society such as “Shiva Nataraja” and “Adios, Mahatma” depicted great religious and social perspective of Hinduism and free spirit of will, respectively. Also, “Heheya Kachina” and “The Light Inside” presented two unique forms of art which is so rare or so common in the modern society that we sometime forget to notice if these types of art exist.
Perterson, L.K., & Cullen, Cheryl. 2000. “Hindu symbolism and colour meanings dominate Indian culture and society,” in Global Graphics: Gloucester, Massachusetts:Rockpoint Publishers, pp.175-176.
This artwork features an abundant background wall of jinas, or victors, with Parsvanatha Jina (the twenty-third great jina of the Jain faith) highlighted in a greater hierarchical scale—including his known attributes of the seven-hooded cobra canopy that shelters him and, like Siddhartha Gautama, elongated earlobes that denote his previous wealthy life that he renounced in order to seek enlightenment through austerity. Parsvanatha, and the majority of the other jinas, sit in the dhyana posture of meditation where they are seated with crossed legs and their hands are resting in their lap, with the tight hand over the left; while the two jinas that flank Parsvanatha stand in the kayotsarga posture, also known as the “body abandonment posture,” which is a meditation pose that emphasizes the Jain doctrine of renunciation of the material world. The portrayal of jinas are commonly depicted with broad shoulders, oversized hands and feet, short hair, lengthy arms and legs, and possess and exhibit the srivatsa—which is the diamond symbol on their chests that signify their enlightenment and the purity of their souls. The jinas featured in this specific sculpture are also portrayed without clothes (due to the emphasis on austerity) and signify that it is specific to the Digambara sect of Jainism. Altarpiece with Multiple Jinas was probably made using the
Inc, E. T. (2003). A monument of Imeasurable beauty & love. Retrieved Feb 11, 2012, from Taj Mahal: http://www.tajmahal.travel/
Ardhanarishvara is in essence Shiva, not Parvati. Mythology also reflects this, where Parvati becomes a part of Siva. It is likewise reflected in iconography: Shiva often has 2 supernatural arms & Parvati has just 1 arm, & his bull vahana – and not her lion vahana – typically accompanies them. Very seldom can one see the female half to the right & the male half to the left in the Ardhanarishvara image.
Although both sculptures, LOVE and The Kiss, are about love, they touch upon different aspects of love. The LOVE structure illustrates love in general, as a whole. The word love can be interpreted into the love a parent has for their child or even the love of an object. On the other hand, The Kiss can be interpreted as ecstasy or even lust. Although The Kiss seems to be viewed as the more romantic of the two, LOVE demonstrates love better because the...
The main temple of Vishnu and the smaller temple of Shiva were both constructed with white plaster casting. The large archway was ornately decorated with etchings of flowers, figures, and designs of nature. It was interesting to see so much
The element of composition of the surface in the artistic creation shows a broken and clean surface set apart by the obvious warmth of the bursting sun portraying huge distress and torment connected with patient lying on the healing facility stretcher uncovering the crisp blood overflowing injuries as the patient falsehoods oblivious. The other side is more adjusted surface trailed by the cool and relaxing shadows of the moon which is a demo of peace, trust and appearance of
This image shows the goddess Durga in nine of her forms. The goddess in the middle is the main form, Durga. This is evident because she is in the center and is largest, suggesting that she is more important, or that the entire image has to do with her. It looks a lot like the image of Vishnu and his avataras. Durga, often referred to as Durga Maa (‘Maa’ meaning mother), is associated with many things. Her vehicle is a tiger, she is extremely beautiful, and she carries weapons in each of her hand except one in which she holds a lotus. The weapons and her vehicle refer to her creation. Durga was created by the Gods when they were overthrown by a demon that could not be killed by them. Since a woman could only kill this demon, the gods put their angry energies together and from each of those energies stemmed a body part of Durga. Each of the gods gave her his weapon, which is why she carries weapons such as Shiva’s trishul, Vishnu’s discus, and the lion from Himalaya. These weapons are the key symbols to look for when recognizing an image of Durga Maa, along with the tiger. The other eight forms of Durga are formed each day of her battle with this demon. Since this battle took nine days, there are nine total parts of Durga. The first form is Shailputri. ‘Shail’ comes from the Sanskrit word meaning mountain, which explains that she was incarnated from Himalaya. She is recognizable in the image as the one on the bottom left corner. Her mount is a bull. She has a trishul in one hand and a lotus in another. She is known for wearing colored apparel. The second phase is Brahmacharni. In this content, Brahma means penance. In this image, she is located right above Shailputri. She is the part of Durga that practices penance. Brahmacharni is easily recognized because she is the only form of Durga that does not have a vehicle.