Summer vacation in Rome: art museum visit with friends

Art Museum Visit

This particular piece of art is a limestone statue, which in all likelihood, originally was a painted piece. Limestone was a precious mineral, and would have most likely been honed and by prepared by a servant or slave for the artisan to work with. This statue is considered to be sculpture in the round as there are no additional supports required (Barnet 113). A great deal of detail is carved into the headdress, and because of the realism qualities, the statue is of a woman. A number of these statues were designed in small decorative forms; however, many were crafted in life size and even larger forms. The proportions seem to be to scale. The Egyptian use of proportions is a method that depicts the human figure in a consistent way, using measurements derived from the observation of real bodies and related to Egyptian metrology (Baines 9). Every detail of the statues extremities are visually clear, with regard to the fingers, demarcation for toes, etc. The face is beautifully carved and the features are proportionate as well. Typically, these kinds of statutes represented a person of high status in Ancient Egypt.

Egyptian representation in art is considered central to the definition of the culture and depicts, defines, and embodies the order of the world as they knew it (Baines 23). This kind of art work is rarely without a value basis. Given the detail of the composition suggests that artists had considerable prestige and autonomy. Moreover, the representations show a sincere concern with the "visual image, but they are subordinate to the socially important purpose which representation serves (Freeman & Cox 124).

The artwork of the New Kingdom can be viewed as the last of the classic Egyptian style of the Middle Kingdom (Lang & Hirmer 45). A number of other Egyptian art and artifacts were two dimensional renderings. The fact that this is a three dimensional rendering speaks to the level of power and influence the person depicted in the stature really had. It is said to be not uncommon for Egyptian statutes to combine both male and female iconography.

The markings that adorn the throne or platform that the female character rests on are hieroglyphics. These pictures were used as a means of communication, with each cluster of symbols representing a word or idea (Gardner 27). According to the scholarly literature, hieroglyphics were used in three distinct ways: as ideograms, where a sign resembling a cat meant cat or something closely connected to it; a phonogram, when an image would represent a sound or its principal consonant; or as a determinative to indicate classification, written as a symbol that could not be pronounced in conjunction with an ambiguous sign (e.g., an ear to represent that the preceding word related to hearing) (Davies 234).

This statue is reminiscent of the art work from the New Kingdom period. What makes this particular statue so impressive is the fact that it is of a famous female. This female pharaoh ruled in the Eighteenth Egyptian Dynasty. Her reign extended from approximately 1472 BC to 1457 BC. The term pharaoh was an ancient Egyptian title given to a king, considered to be a living god and worshipped as a deity. "The pharaoh was an absolute ruler of Egypt"; both religiously and politically (Habachi 88).

You could tell a lot about an Egyptians station in life by how they were adorned, the elaborateness of their headpiece, and the kinds of jewelry they wore. Both men and women wore jewelry as a representation of their status. For example, pleated linen represented high status. Other accoutrements such as scepters, and staves also exemplified a person's position within society.

Historically in ancient Egypt, women were in a subordinate position to men, and this too was displayed in the art. In reliefs and paintings, for example, women were physically positioned behind the men or sitting while the men were in a higher physical position. In the case where a woman is exclusively depicted in a monument, tomb, or large scale statute, the man is said to not appear in any form so as not to be placed in a "secondary position" (Lang & Hirmer 73). Although it was common for women to be excluded from high offices of government and administration, if a woman were to have significant legal status, she would then be considered equal to a man. Resultantly, she could own property, enter into contractual agreements, and initiate legal matters if it became necessary.

The era in which this female pharaoh reigned is said to have been one of extreme wealth and political stability. A great portion of the pharaohs' wealth was lavished on their gods and the erection of monumental architecture and statuary that also honored their gods (Barnet 114). The Egyptians believed everything that happened in the world and in the universe were governed by the will of the gods. Not only were the gods present in natural things but they also represented ideology and abstract concepts such as truth, protection, and kingship Freeman & Cox 45).

These gods and deities were a critical component of Egyptian culture and were prominently depicted in the art. The pharaohs had significant responsibility to go the Egyptian temples, which were the houses of the gods who resided there is a literal sense in the statutes housed inside them.