The works of art to be examined are the Indian Dancing Ganesha, 800-900 CE made with sandstone, and the Egyptian Block statue of the scribe Amunwahsu, 1386-1278 BCE (New Kingdom, late Dynasty 18-early Dynasty 19) crafted with limestone and plaster. Dancing Ganesha is a figure of dancing elephant-headed god surrounded by smaller figures. Block statue of the scribe Amunwahsu is a statue of a seated man with knees drawn up and body covered by a cloak, with head and hands emerging above the cloak. In comparing Dancing Ganesha and the Block statue of the scribe Amunwahsu, though both used for religious purposes, they are different in terms of their composition and relation to the viewer, which contributes to their difference in expressive content. …show more content…
The focal point of the sculpture is the elephant-headed figure with the human body. Its hands hold a torch, staff, and other objects that are symbols that help to describe the God. The right knee is bent outwards and its foot not fully grounded, while the left knee is bent downwards with the foot firmly placed on the ground. The arms are tilted up to shoulder, bent outwards and the palms face each other. The arrangement of its hands and legs create the illusion that the elephant is dancing, which helps to create an uplifting mood. The elephant-headed figure steps out of a heavily decorated doorway. This makes the figure appear three-dimensional and interacts with the viewer. The way that the elephant “steps out” contributes to the complexity of the statue because its business draws in and engages the viewer. Like Dancing Ganesha, the shape of the Block statue of the scribe Amunwahsu also attracts spectators because they are invited in by the simple, packed shape. The sculpture stands a little more than a foot tall and has a geometric, almost symmetrical arrangement. The focal point is the main figure which is a statue of a seated man with knees drawn up and body covered by a cloak, with head and hands emerging above the cloak. This composition draws you in from all directions and creates a placid mood because of the simplicity of the
The Ancient Egyptian sculpture, “Statue of Nykara and His Family”, was sculpted during the late fifth dynasty. The sculpture is a depiction of Nykara, his wife, Nubkau, and son, Ankhma-Re. The statue is in poor condition with pieces of limestone missing and chips on the three subject’s faces and bodies. The painted limestone shows the conventional colors for the male and female subjects. There is a clear discoloration among Nykara and his son’s bodies. The brownish red color they once were has eroded to a light yellowish color, which resembles the purposeful color of Nykara’s wife. The hieroglyphs on Nykara’s seat insinuate that the sculpture is meant to be viewed from the front view. This is also evident by the way the three subjects are facing forward in frontal view. There are hieroglyphs on both the chair and base of the statue near Nykara’s wife and son’s feet.
The subject of this piece is also the Tara but in this one she is represented in eight different circumstances. The centre of the piece however is a larger representation of her while the others are a lot smaller and scattered. The various representations of the Tara show her in various circumstances which portray the Eight Fears. She is siting on a lotus and is wearing a similar type of head piece and jewellery as on the sculpture. The painting is colourful but is predominately deep green and blue with a little bit of red and orange on the figures. The expression on the bodhisattvas face is peaceful just like the sculpture but the painting overall is fairly crowded and filled with movement. It allows the eye to wander around in all directions. It has a mystical effect due to the clouds and rainbows on the upper half of the
...elationship between the people in the composition and their feelings in each other’s company. The viewer is forced to think critically about the people in the painting and their feelings and body language.
The subject does not accurately depict the human anatomy. In fact, while studying this figure, one may notice that geometric shapes make up many of the limbs. For example, the artist uses ovals to represent the palm of the hands, the shoulders and the knees. The man's chest is in the form of squares with rounded edges and with perfect little white circles as nipples. This...
The statue of King Menkaure and his Queen exhibits with clarity the Egyptian devotion of art to a cannon of proportions. Its strictly frontal view point, the rigid poses of the figures, and a faithful accordance to rules and established customs can be interpreted as manifesting the nature of the Pharaoh’s authority over his subjects while at the same time exemplifying the highly regulated, hierarchical structure of ancient Egyptian society. The measured grid of verticals and counterbalancing horizontals, the stiff artificial postures and the overall idealized anatomical shapes of the bodies combined with naturalism is indicative of Egyptian taste for art and a representation of the character of Egyptian culture.
... study for the overall concept they appear rather as abstract patterns. The shadows of the figures were very carefully modeled. The light- dark contrasts of the shadows make them seem actually real. The spatial quality is only established through the relations between the sizes of the objects. The painting is not based on a geometrical, box like space. The perspective centre is on the right, despite the fact that the composition is laid in rows parallel to the picture frame. At the same time a paradoxical foreshortening from right to left is evident. The girl fishing with the orange dress and her mother are on the same level, that is, actually at equal distance. In its spatial contruction, the painting is also a successful construction, the groups of people sitting in the shade, and who should really be seen from above, are all shown directly from the side. The ideal eye level would actually be on different horizontal lines; first at head height of the standing figures, then of those seated. Seurats methods of combing observations which he collected over two years, corresponds, in its self invented techniques, to a modern lifelike painting rather than an academic history painting.
Egyptian art is infamous across the world - classified by the monumental pyramids, and the Sphinx. Although these are both valid forms of Egyptian art, they do not make up the entire artistic history of the country. On the contrary, perhaps the most replicated example of classic Egyptian art, from the Old Kingdom, can be found in their rendering of the human form. An interest in portraiture developed early in Egypt. (Gardner, 75) Whether painted on pottery, or cut into rock, the figures all had notably Egyptian characteristics. "The seated statue is one of only a very small number of basic formulaic types employed by the sculptors of the Old Kingdom." (Gardner, 75)
One of the many criteria that makes this particular painting unique is the placement of the objects. In other words, the composition. The black haired female figure is placed in the center as the main point focal point. The audience does not know the story of painting, but sees a figure of a female body.
Instead, the clothing of this sculpture bears a resemblance to the Gandhara style, which was influenced and looks quite similar to those on Roman imperial statues with oblique draperies crossover the axillary on left shoulder of the
As you read on into my essay I will focus on a couple of key features. Like where it came from, what it is made out of, the importance of this piece, and the back ground about the religion it come from. Let’s start with the back ground and where it’s from. The Jain shrine was created in the 18th century in India. India art had been intimately tied to religion for over 2,000 years.
I chose this sculpture because I was intrigued by the position of the man and the centaur. I was able to witness that the centaur is trying to invade the personal space of the man. The sculpture showed me that there is a strong relationship between man and creature. The quality of the sculpture made me realize that animals play a big part of a human’s life and can be seen as threatening to humans. It was interesting to see that both the man and centaur were created to have almost of the same structures. This statue has a metallic brown and green, bronze tone and appeared undersized. It has a height of four and a half feet, and six inches. It has long, thin, legs with calf muscles, and bulging thighs. The sculpture evolved from Olympia, Greece. The man and centaur sculpture was created in 750 BCE during an orderly time period. The colors used for this sculpture, proved that it has a longer lasting mold for statues. On the left side of the sculpture, the man has a wrap on his head, that can symbolize, he is some form of a god. On the right side, the centaur has the same head piece as the man, but the body of a horse. It can be seen that the man and
Gandhara had absorbed Indian and Mediterranean influence in its art as well as its culture. This fusion of civilizations had taken place during the 6th and 5th century B.C, it was during this time period that the rhythm of civilizations was maintained. It was noted for the distinctive Gandhara style of Buddhist art, which developed out of a merger of Greek, Syrian, Persian, and Indian artistic influence. As mentioned earlier the Gandhara artists were said to have hand of a Greek but the head and heart of an Indian . During this period the devotees had dedicated themselves to the novel task of carving stone images of Buddha and Bodhisattvas. In their version of the Buddhist legends, the Gandhara artists, heavily favored the use of classical Roman art with bounteous of Greek mythology such as the angels that had garlands, Centaurs with human heads, arms and the body, spiral and flowing lines, Tritons with the fish tails and horse’s forefoot, scrolls and stuccos. The carving of the drapery showed the Hellenic influence on Gandhara art, for example the bright disc around the head of the Buddha or the half human being with the head of trunk of a women and tail of a fish. Similarly the wavy treatment of the hair, balance and distribution of weight considering the frame of human parts certain motifs and patterns all indicated a full close knowledge of
The painting portrays a classical, Greek-style architecture with wide arches and marble columns. This painting greatly influences philosophy because all the people illustrated are related to philosophy. The painting is also composed
The “Sacred Tree,” (fig. 1) was originally positioned behind the king’s throne. The scene shows two genii, sometimes with birds’ heads and sometimes with men’s heads and the horned hats of gods. Each of the winged figures holds a bucket and reaches out with an oval object toward a stylized “tree.” The composition has been read as being based on bilateral symmetry, with the vertical stalk-like structure crowned by a palmette. A meticulous examination reveals that although balanced, it has many discrepancies on both sides that deviate from perfect mirror symmetry. Ashurnasirpal appears twice, shown from two sides, dressed in ceremonial robes and holding a mace connoting his authority. The figure of the king on the right makes an invocative gesture a god in a winged disk in the top center of the relief. Ashur, the national god or Shamash, the god of the sun and justice, may be identified as the god who confers the king divine right. On the left, the king holds a ring, an ancient Mesopotamian symbol of divine kingship, in one...
...des us with a glimpse into the ancient culture using beautiful and detailed designs. The art form has been sustained in fired clay for thousands of years indiscriminately telling its story to the world and to history.