Art Overview

In the beginning of time, life was chaotic in the Art history I!! I thought that the class was going to be an easy A, but I was proven wrong. It was a class taught by Professor Walden. When the class first began, I thought it was difficult especially with the work load. So I complained, because I spent more time on it than my biology major courses. Eventually over the semester, it became a very enjoyable class. I liked learning about different culture of art. In their art work they express there time frame, who they were as a society, and other attributes, which really intrigued me.   Even though I was studying for other test in Art, I still paid attention. I found it to be a very enjoyable class. I am so glad that I did not drop the class. I like learning about the Egyptians, Romans, And the Gothic period. I would tell future students to give the class a chance, do not go with what you first think.

            I learned a lot more than I expected over the semester, I have a new profound respect for art. I at first looked at a picture and said if it was pretty or ugly. I did not know the true meaning behind the picture, but know I could say that I could break down the image into its parts.

            This last final project was good I like it. I am happy that it is over. Thank you. It has been a great semester.   

Peace…

Chritian and Roman Art

 
                                                       Pantheon

The Pantheon is a temple dedicated to the Olympian Gods. After the Battle of Actium, Marcus Agrippa commissioned the building to the Roman gods.  It was built by Hadrian between 118-128 CE. It was built of concrete with Corinthian columns with a dome on top of the rotunda behind it. The front of the building has a rectangular overhang which contains the roman columns. The columns are an art style also seen in the Greek architecture.  The porch opens into the rotunda, the concrete dome. The rotunda is a large circular room. There was an enclosed courtyard around the pantheon. The courtyard hide the rotunda from the public which exaggerated it size and made it surprise walk in thing that was noticed. At the dome’s apex is the oculus which is one of the two light sources in the building. The other light source is the door area. The oculus is 29 feet. It brings about natural light from the sky giving the area a divine heavenly feeling. The ceiling of the dome has five rows of 28 sunken coffers. This work of art has influenced many later to come like Christian churches.

                             Church of Santa Costanza

Church of Santa Costanza

It is a model for Christian tombs, martyrs’ churches and baptisteries. It is a central-plan roman building with vertical axes. This church was build by Constantine for his daughter Constantina. It was build before 350 CE outside the walls of Rome (Stockstad 227).  In 1256, the building became a church dedicated to Santa Costanza. The building has a barrel-vaulted passageway called the ambulatory that enclose the rotunda. The round building is 29 meters in diameter and is separated by twelve column pairs. There are entablature blocks, paired columns, and complex capitals that support the dome. The original building was covered with marble. There are still mosaics and other works of art that survive inside the church like the “harvesting of grapes mosaic.” There are clerestory windows on the second level that shed natural light into the building creating a divine feeling or heavenly one. There are many Christian beliefs found in the church like the green and red colored marble is color coded to point to the cross.

The roman art was used to represent rulers and other deities. The Christian art is based on the Romans like the Roman was based on the Greeks. Many of the Greeks techniques were abandoned by the roman. Each society urges to make its own cultural depiction or style. The Christians were under the power and influence of the Romans, so the picked up the Roman style of art. Christians were being persecuted until the the Christian Emperor Constantine. many roman rulers and other people claimed deitical (godly) characteristics; this can be seen in the roman art. the christian art is based on Jesus, the cruxification, and the 12 disciples.  A great connection between the Santa Costanza church and the Pantheon is the rotundas.  The rotundas are the main feature of both the Roman and Christian church. The Christian churches and the Roman building were built for particular reason like a dedication to the roman polytheistic gods or other religious purposes like story of the Messiah Christ. The roman style was used by the early Christian churches. This shows society connection to the Roman Empire as a leading political power. The Christians added on to the Roman style and used it to represent their ways. The oculus and the clerestory windows are used to create an emotion with the light.  the mosaic of the grape harvest in the church has roman ideas and art like the grape vines. these are things that are of ease to maybe the society back then. I would say that the Christian are is based symbolism trying to send or depict a message rather than the Roman art focus on realism, the physical appearance idea. There were many illiterate people in society back then; the Christian art was a way of presenting the teaching of God that Jesus taught and Jesus life off course. The time shift between the roman art and the developing Christian world went from a polytheistic world to a monotheistic world. Also, it is a shift from mankind to more of a divine or godly focus. This theme is seen throughout Christian churches that were established and are to come later on.

Group Blog: Parthenon Project

The Persians had a lot of influence on the Athenian classical art. They helped shape the Athenian art. The first Persian invasion of Athens was 480 BCE. According to Pollitt, the Persians kept on harassing the Athenian villages (65). They destroyed the sculptures in the Parthenon. They tended to attack the sculptures as if they were real humans. Many of them are beheaded like the one that are at the modern day Parthenon. Persia and Athens never got along very well. The Persians kept on attacking the Athenians so that they can gain more power, but Athena was there to save the Athenians. The old Parthenon was left in ruins as a “reminder of the impiety of the barbarian” (pg 66). Pericle’s later rebuilds the Parthenon as a sign of the status of Athens and as icon of Greek victory over the Persians. Athens achieves high statue with the Persians out of the picture. They make allies incase war was to break out again. Many people were killed and they were given a Pericle’s funeral.  Athens had sufficient funds available after the Athens defeated the Persians and they were no longer at war. So they dedicated the money toward art in building monuments. Evan after the Persian war, the Athenians were still at war with Anti-Athenians. Pericle’s funeral speech points out that man can “shape the word to his own vision of it (67).”  Man is the measure of all things meaning that knowledge is subjective. Example of this is in the Parthenon, the way that the sculptures are sculpted to give an impression. They Greek or Athenian artist tried to create order out of chaos. Their lives were a mess with all the conflict, but they can depict they life that they envision in their work. Many of the sculptures were done during and after chaos, but the artists were able to give it their own impression (72). “Man was the measurer, and things had to be measured in the light of his experience (74). Basically the experience that the Athenians experienced from the Persians helped shape their art. Like creating order out of chaos. The Metopes are great example of creating order out of chaos that the Athenians made. This influenced the classical art enormously especially in the temple and sculptures.

In conclusion, the Parthenon encompasses many fundamentals of the classical period. The Parthenon also has many Athenian aspects incorporated in them as well. Athens olive trees is apart of the Athenian society due it being the major export. It was provided by the Athena, the goddess of wisdom, art, craft and many other things. She helped the Athenians defeat the Persian after they were sacked.  The experience that the Athenians went through by being attacked by the Persians influenced the classical art period. The Athenians made order out of chaos. This could be seen in the Parthenon. The friezes that portray events that happened involved chaos, like the involvement of the gods fighting. Also, dead soldiers are shown. The Friezes portray the history and thanks to the goddess that helped them. Basically, the experiences of their daily lives shaped the classical art elements seen through out the Parthenon.

Parthenon vs. Nike of Samothrace

The Nike of Samothrace is similar to the Parthenon Athena Parthenos. The ancient Greeks symbol for victory was Nike. It was created before the Parthenon around 250 BCE or even earlier. The purpose of the statue was to remind the Greeks visitor of the important roles that the gods play. Athena Parthenos was build as thanks to her for helping the Athenians defeat the Persians. The sculpture portrays the traditional classical style. The Nike is detailed like Athena. There are obvious similarities in the sculpturing of the both Athena and the Nike.  

The Nike’s massive body is stabilized by the powerful backward thrust of her gigantic wings. According to several scholars, the Nike is associated with the victory of the Rhodians against the fleet Antiochus III the Great. It stands on top of a stone ship. It was originally thanks to the deities as apart of a fountain (Lahanas).  Athena served as a protector and deity to the Athenian. She is there to guide and help them. The movement of the large figure, and the strong contrast of light and dark on the on the sculptured figure exemplify classical art. Also the contrasting texture of the feather, fabric and skin symbolize Hellenistic art (Stockstad 156). The statue is missing a head, which can be inferred that the city was also sacked like Athens.

By Abader Almosawi

Individual Blog: Greek Vase Pottery

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/31.11.11

The Column-Krater is a Greek vase pottery that was created around 550 B.C. Lydos is the creator of the Attic vase painter. Lydos is known to have done a hundred vases and others follow his technique. On the Column-Krater are women, kids, and wine. They are apart of a symposium, which many people interpret as a drinking party. The Athenian and other Greek societies are known to have conducted the symposium. The women, kids, and the wine were ingredients in the symposium. In the symposium, the general public or citizens would gather together to conduct business and engage into a very serious dialogue. The wine was buffered with water before it was served.  The black-decorated vases tended to be mythological before the last quarter of the last sixth century. This Column-Krater is able to hold 19 gallons of wine it is one of the first revealed that depict women, kids, and wine. 

            The subject of the vase is Hephaistos, son of Zeus and Hera, returning to Mount Olympus. Mount Olympus s the home of the gods which Hephaistos was exiled from by his mother. Okeanos daughter took Hephaistos and tendered him. During that period he became a craftsman. He sent his mother a fabulous throne that trapped her because the springs relaxed not allowing her to get up. He was the only one that could get her off the throne. Hephaistos was subdued with wine by Dionysos was convinced to release his mother. There are twenty-seven satyrs and maenads inscribed around the vase.

Dionysos leads the procession on one side wearing long garments and Ivey garland on his head. Dionysos hold a drinking horn called a keras and a vine. He is surrounded by the satyrs which are shaggy creatures that have horse tails and ears. The maenads also follow which are female worshipers of the wine god that are wearing animal skins over their dresses. They all go in the same direction dancing in an energetic manner. Hephaistos rides a donkey in the occasion. He is wearing a small dress and takes a drinking horn. The satyrs are busy doing choirs like playing the aulos, another holding the drinking horn and others face the spectators. The form of each figure contrasts clearly with the background. The composition is a decorative design.  “Incised lines and added white and red glaze make livelier the black silhouettes.”

Source: Attributed to Lydos: Column-krater (31.11.11) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Group Blog; Egpyt Project

I do not know how to embed the Ancient Egyptian Art project on this blog but I have put a site that it can be reached at. 

http://prezi.com/pcei9bkrlofx/ancient-egyptian-project/

Individual Blog 8 Part 2----Floating in the Air

http://www.artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=3084

                                                             The Spanish Manner

                                                             Floating in Air

During Goya lifetime, he only made seven albums. These include painting and drawings. The drawings are kept in a box to protect them from UV radiation. His drawing generate a great amount of imagination. The drawing are finished and they look like paintings. Goya uses inscription in his drawing but they are more complicated than cartoon. The reason is that the drawing can be interpreted in different ways. The drawing allow Goya to comment on his life with their great imagination without really being understood by the wrong people. I am trying to say that he can hide a message in the drawing like political without being detected. 

            “The Spanish Manner,” Rogozijo is one of the drawings that Goya drew. It was drawn I was drawn in the 1816-20. Two heavy dressed humans are in the drawing floating in the air with no ground below them. There are clouds in the sky. They are free floating in the air like in a vacuum. The inscription says that they are in the air because they are experiencing pure joy. There are castanets in the hand of the upper person. At the time Goya did the drawing, the castanets stood for happiness. That is understandable that they are swept of their feet by joy.  Further examining it brings about different questions: Whys are they old people? Old people can experience joy, but there is an unattractive physical appearance displayed by the figures. Another question is, “Are they real people?” This is an open ended question. It depends on what the observer thinks. There is no exact answer provided for the question. Goya is very ambiguous in his drawing.  The drawing of the garments is done fine. He used shadow and light in the drawing like on the skirt.

             I agree with the author that Goya drawing do induce great amount of imagination. He is making the observer think in many ways to interpret the artist true intention. The thesis is that Goya drawings are open-ended in interpretation. The author explains his point through the article like the absence of the ground make one think that the figures are in the air, or maybe they are dead etc…. This reminds me of the Parthenon article about why they the architect made to curvatures. One can not know an exact intention of the artist or architect.

Individual Blog 8 Part 1---Funerary Krater

Funerary Krater

              Large Funerary vessels were made between 900 and 700 BCE as grave markers. Many grave markers have been found at the ancient cemetery in Athens. On the funerary, there is a pictorial record of the burial ritual that was performed. There is great detail depicted on the vessel. According to the Stockstad, the body is placed at the top of the vessel lying on the side ready to be cremated. There are people standing on each side with their arms over their head to imply the gesture of anguish and mourning. In this vessel, there are horse-drawn chariot and foot-soldiers who with their defined physical appearance, move in a glum procession. The shields can be a representation of a military person, or represent a very important person.  There are geometric figures used to represent humans in the picture. There are triangles used for torsos and head, round dots for the eyes, long and thin rectangles for the arms. The figures have tiny waists. Three dimensional form illusions taking over real space have been avoided. There is a rhythm of repeated features on the vessel to create a deep sense of human loss to many.  Opposed to the Egyptian death perspective, the Grecian dead enter an area of mystery and obscurity that a living human can not define.  

            The Funerary Krater caught my attention when it was discussed in class.  It is remarkable that the Grecian could create such an art work. I would not be able to create 1% of it. The depictions of the ceremony with the entire geometric figure in there are very well defined. The different views between the egyptians and the Grecian concerning death make me think about their different culture. They are very close to each other, so why not have similar death theories. This vessel reminds me of Narmer palette. The way that the lines are defines and how a story is told. This vessel makes me want one to be put on my grave when I am gone.