Egyptian Art Essays (Examples)

If anything, the style of Akhenaton would tend to emphasize positive features, and perhaps even idealize the figure. The change in style may be attributed to Akhenaton's introduction of monotheism into Egypt. Ahten, the one God into which all other Egyptian deities were formed, was usually portrayed as a sun figure. In keeping with Ahten's supremacy and the tendency of Egyptian monarchs to affiliate them with the prevailing deity, Akhenaton called himself the "One Unique of Re," signifying his individualism.

ecause of this, Egyptian artists of the time began the movement to the previously mentioned idealistic portrayal of the human in art.

The representation of Akhenaton and his family members, therefore, was focused primarily on the favorable features and to deemphasize any flaws. The artist ek is known to have developed sculpture of Akhenaton in such a favorable manner that the monarch used his physical appearance to represents the Egyptian…

On viewing extensive amounts of Egyptian art, the similarities between the subjects and styles is somewhat astounding to a Western eye, which is more trained to notice the different signs of individual artists. It easily becomes clear that though the Egyptians saw aesthetic value in art and material things, most of the artwork they left behind -- especially in tombs and funerary chapels -- serve a much higher purpose through representation.

Mummification is only the most prominent sign of the Egyptians' beliefs regarding the after life and the preparations necessary for it. Their art was consumed with the same ideals, and in many ways their culture could be said to be a sort of death cult -- this life was primarily used to celebrate and represent the next.

ibliography

Applegate, Melissa Littlefield. The Egyptian ook of Life. Deerfield each, FL: Health Communications Inc., 2000.

David, Ann Rosalie. The Experience of…

Moreover, this particular work displays some of the key characteristics of Isis. In addition to her magical powers, Isis represented for Egyptian culture the model of perfection for womanhood. This model, of course, includes the role of the woman as a mother, which is why it is vital that she is breast-feeding her newborn in this sculpture.

It is also key to understand the fact that Horus was one of the principle gods in the Egyptian pantheon. He was their son God and as such represents the ultimate manifestation of a king. The sculpture reinforces this fact by depicting Horus' royal and divine lineage, since he is being nursed by another very well-known Egyptian divinity. Lastly, it is essential to realize that as the quintessential matriarch and womanly figure, Isis was the example that many Egyptian queens were based upon. Thus, it is possible to see other queens wearing a…

The "Stela" was made around 1350 BCE, during the amarna period, and depicts Akhenaten, who initiated monotheism in Egypt, and his consort Nerfiti, in a limestone relief carving. The "Stela" represents the pharaoh and his family in a naturalistic manner that breaks from the traditional Egyptian stylization. The royal couple hold their three babies underneath the sun in a garden setting. The lines of the carving are more fluid, and the human forms are depicted as stylized, but more to a natural scale. Generally the piece indicates movement and intimacy rather than ordered ritual. The connection between the pharaoh and the sun, symbolizing the one god Ahten is made explicit by the rays of the sun shining down on the happy family.

These two pieces show Egypt at the moment of its dynastic inception and at a later moment in its reflective glory. The pieces are both identifiably Egyptian, but…

Ancient Egypt featured a wide variety of different pharaohs's. It is often a less well-known fact that these on occasion included a female pharaoh, such as Nefertari or Hatshepsut. The 18th Dynasty is no exception to this rule. It is interesting to see the extent of the importance of religion in lives of the kings and the people of the time. Often this is indicated by the art created to honor the rulers of the time. elow then is a comparison of the statue of Hatshepsut with the Sphinx of Senwosret III.

There are many different possibilities regarding Hatshepsut's reign and the way in which this female pharaoh validated her rulership. Some argue for example that she saw herself as Thutmose I's heir. Another argument is that she could have capitalized on her role as the "wife" of the god Amun, which phrase was commonly used for royalty at the…

Artists express feelings, thoughts, and images within their art. Sometimes they show more than that and paint their spirit on canvas. Spirituality was an important aspect of identity for many throughout the centuries and millennia. In modern times, artists like Georges Braque and assily Kandinsky wished to showcase the essence of the intangible by illustrating it through unique patterns and shapes. During the Renaissance period, and during the Baroque period, artists demonstrated their beliefs and spirituality through a realistic fashion, depicting images of the Last Supper and the Passion of Christ. Ancient Greece showed gods and goddesses, demonstrating their devotion to their faith.

Religion plays an important part to most people's spirituality. Therefore, art showcasing spirituality often times highlights religious images. These images can offer expressions of the divine and of the fears and hopes of artists in their respective time periods. Religion and art appear to go hand-in-hand in…

These pyramids were the resting places of these kings and pharaohs' sacred bodies, which the Egyptians believed should be preserved if the soul should live beyond. This explains why they prevented the decay of the corpses through a mysteriously elaborate method of embalming as mummies. They lay these mummies in stone coffins and wrote incantations to assist them in their journey in the next world. The Egyptians meant that their leaders would live forever. Egyptian art and architecture reflect nature and the regularity of the whole, especially in the reliefs and paintings that adorned the walls of the tombs. The art appears to be intended to be for the dead man interred and to keep him or her alive. Egyptian painters looked at life in a very different way from others. They did not value beauty or wholeness as others do in their works. Egyptian painters wanted to preserve everything…

So valuable that it has never been permitted to leave Egypt, the Palette of King Narmer establishes both visual and iconographic conventions that will guide Egyptian art for centuries (Calvert, n.d.). The iconography on the Palette of King Narmer can be found in Egyptian art for the next several millennia, including the way the entire scene is depicted, and the specific elements and subjects like the headdresses and royal regalia. A double-sided palette, it also tells the story of the King, which is itself a common feature in Egyptian art and design. The front of the palette includes the King’s name rendered in hieroglyphs, flanked by two bull or cow heads that possibly symbolize the goddess Hathor. Below this line of “text” are three additional layers, the first of which demonstrates clearly the extent of the king’s power and dominion over the land and people. The king’s headdress is one…

Ancient Near Eastern art is easily distinguishable and recognizable because of its consistent use of various techniques including the hieratic scale, composite view, static visuals, frontality, and overall stylized effects. These elements serve practical and symbolic functions, allowing the artists to tell stories about the subjects they depict. Moreover, these characteristics enabled the anonymous artists to consistently reproduce the work of their predecessors to convey a consistent visual style that persisted throughout time.
Hieratic Scale
A hieratic scale allows the artist to assign symbolic, hierarchical value to certain elements of objects in a composition. In ancient Egyptian art, the hieratic scale is used mainly to differentiate between the status of the elite (such as pharaohs) and the common person. For example, on the Narmer Palette, the pharaoh appears many times larger than his vanquished enemies, not because he is a giant but because his status and power is far greater…

Ethics of epatriation-Egyptian Artifacts

Egyptians making efforts to get their artifacts back

The artifacts that get stolen from a country are hard to get back as, the country from which they are stolen would have to ask the authorities of the other country to help them find those artifacts or fight a legal battle in the courts of the other country which can not only be very time consuming but also expensive. Although now there are laws that require the countries to return the stolen items to the ones that they originally belonged to but a lot of the disputed items were returned long before these laws were implemented (Durham, 2007).

It was last year that the chief of Egyptian antiquities; Hawass got together with 25 other countries in the search of all the artifacts that were stolen or were even gifted. He said that the museums and the authorities…

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).…

vii).

The image is a symbol for the mental concept that it represents. The more realistic representations found at the end of the Amarna period present the royal family as humans with emotions and feelings just like everyone else. This change in representation may have been representative of changes in the relationship between the monarchy and the people. ritings of the time tell us that the king and the royal family attempted to make themselves more accessible to the people (Blatt and Blatt, p. 62).

This renewed realism in the relationship between the royal family and the general population may have been the reason for the development of more realistic representations of the royal family. They may have wanted to show the human side of the royal family in order to make them more accessible to the population at large. Changing art forms during the Amarna period may have been…

As Amun, he also wears a flat-topped crown, which was his signature. The figure is carrying and ankh in one hand and a scimitar in the other which is laid across his chest.

The gold represents the sun in ancient Egyptian culture, and so it is the only fitting

Hellenistic period

The Hellenistic period began in 323 BC, after the death of one of ancient Greece's great heroes, Alexander the Great. Alexander had conquered vast expanses of the ancient world, which opened up great cultural influences on the people of Greece (National Museum of Athens 2010). During this era, the people speak a multitude of different languages, and there are cultural influences from around the ancient world parading through the streets, which might I add, have all been recently paved. The city itself looks strikingly similar to more modern day cities. The culture is ripe with artistic expression and acceptance.…

French omantic painter, Eugene Delacroix, is well-known from this period. Delacroix often took his subjects from literature but added much more by using color to create an effect of pure energy and emotion that he compared to music. He also showed that paintings can be done about present-day historical events, not just those in the past (Wood, 217). He was at home with styles such as pen, watercolor, pastel, and oil. He was also skillful in lithography, a new graphic process popular with the omantics. His illustrations of a French edition of Goethe's "Faust" and Shakespeare's "Hamlet" still stand as the finest examples in that medium.

Delacroix' painting "Massacre at Chios" is precisely detailed, but the action is so violent and the composition so dynamic that the effect is very disturbing (Janson, 678). With great vividness of color and strong emotion he pictured an incident in which 20,000 Greeks were…

The artworks prevalent during the early Middle Ages in many ways stand between these two extremes. The art of this period was one that was both religiously inclined but also celebrated the human form and human nature that was to become so prominent in the enaissance. In many ways much of early Medieval art was similar to the abstract and decorative art that we find in Islamic examples. An example that has been chosen to represent this early period of European art is the Gerona Bible Master from Bologna, Italy,

Figure 3.

(Source: http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/m/middleages.html)

This decorative example displays intricate artwork that emphasizes and enhances the Biblical context. The text or lyrics on the page refers to hymnal and religious phrases of praise, such as "Let us rejoice" (Art: Middle Ages). Note the way that the decorative images add depth to the aesthetics of the script and the manuscript as a…

Egyptian Mythology

Most of the people would define a myth as a story. But this is not the correct meaning of a myth. The debate over the accurate meaning of myth has been going through since last 2000 years. The most generally accepted definition of a myth is that, myths are stories regarding the gods. They are sacred stories and they give an explanation about the way the world is. They are traditional stories that contain knowledge and information. (Pinch 1-5)

Mythological stories have been told by the Egyptians for thousands of years. They, however, properly started recording and writing these mythological stories from 2000 BC. In the ancient times the Egyptians had a number of gods. People belonging to different regions had different gods whom they worshiped. ith the development of society, people of different regions started living together, and the stories regarding the culture, traditions, religion and way…

All this attention paid to their appearance demanded that a high-quality mirror be used. (Virtual, 3)

Hand-held mirrors were made of a sheet of metal hammered down to less than a millimeter (1/32") thick. They were sometimes decorated with solid gold and inlaid with precious stones. The handles were sometimes a sculpture of a maiden holding a cat, or other object, or with her hands raised to hold the mirror; abstract and symbolic designs were also utilized. The Egyptians felt that makeup and mirrors would be needed in the afterlife, so they were placed in the tombs of the deceased. The bronze on a mirror could not be touched, or it would ruin the shiny surface with the oils from fingers. If the mirror was simply cleaned occasionally with a damp cloth, the valuable and decorative object would last a long time. Some of these mirrors have survived until today,…

This labor force was effective, unified, and provided a strong centralized state. The pyramids acted not as slave pits, but as political, religious, social, and economic focuses for the people. Laborers believed their own eternity would be won through their service, and although their choices of work and location were based on socioeconomic factors, these individuals were free citizens of the state (David, a.R., 58).

In addition to the peasant labor, there were professional craftsmen and architects whose skills were required for the more finely detailed and skilled areas of the pyramid. These individuals had their own housing area within the barracks, and were treated to slightly nicer conditions than those of the slaves. They were also, some believed paid wages in exchange for their skills, since such skills were learned and honed only through repetition and higher learning, as opposed to the unskilled labor of the peasant force. These…

Art

Over the past several thousand years, the Chinese have contributed some of the world's most significant technological tools and inventions. Most of these inventions have had a tremendous impact on human history and it is hard to imagine life without any of them. Among the most influential of Chinese inventions include gunpowder/explosives; paper; moveable type; the magnetic compass; tea; noodles; matches; and silk. Of these eight inventions, the four most important include paper, gunpowder, tea, and noodles. Of those four, the Chinese invention I could least likely live without would be noodles.

It is difficult to imagine how human beings could have spread information without paper. Even if the Chinese had not invented moveable type well before the Gutenberg printing press was designed in Europe, the invention of paper is one of the most important contributions to the spread of knowledge, learning, ideas, and information. As the Franklin Institute…

Art

Annibale Carracci, "Flight into Egypt" 1603-1604

This painting is a lunette, or a half-moon shape. However, the composition within the painting is triangular in nature, with the point of the triangle facing down at the precise point of Mary's feet. The center point of the composition is a waterfall leading from a castle into the estuary. The eye follows the flow of the water down, to settle on the figure of Mary carrying infant Jesus. The color palette also draws the eye toward Mary, who is bathed in white aural light that corresponds with the white tones in the rushing waterfall. In the foreground are three figures. The horizontal planes of the foreground and background terrain are complemented by the verticality of the trees, but the upper third of the painting is taken up by the sky. The content of Carracci's painting depicts the long journey Mary is undertaking…

Art Compare

The author of this report has been asked to answer two distinct questions as it pertains to some pieces that are in the Art Institute of Chicago. There are a total of three questions from which the author will select two. The selected question from the optional pair will be about the Aesthetic Movement pieces offered by Herter and Godwin. The other question will center on a compare and contrast between two pieces that are in certain galleries from both the American and European Decorative Art sections. The two works selected for the second question are to fall under the "related but different" paradigm such as two vases, two chairs or something else common. While the pieces of art in the European and American art galleries are quite different, they tend to be related in many ways as well including the motive behind the designs and how they…

Art

The Wikipedia web site defines "art" as a "generic term for any product of the creative impulse," while Encarta Encyclopedia considered this concept as "the product of human creativity in which materials are shaped or selected to convey an idea, emotion, or visually interesting form." These definitions are related in the study of eight web sites, all of which center on the subject of (various forms of) art:

The Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC) web site (http://www.hubbardstreetdance.com/home.asp) centers on and provides an overview about street dancing through providing information about different institutions and centers that offer street dancing tutorials, competitions, other street dance-related events.

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. (http://www.warholfoundation.org) showcases the not only the works of Andy Warhol, but also functions as a venue for artists to take advantage of grants and art projects that would be beneficial for their development/improvement as visual artists.…

Figurine of the Goddess adjet

In the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, there is a sculpture in the Egyptian wing that depicts one of the Egyptian goddesses. The piece is entitled "Figurine of the Goddess adjet." It is located in Hammer Building Room 303 of the museum amongst the other Egyptian art exhibits. It was given to the museum from the Hearst family, famous for their collection of ancient, historically-significant pieces of art and it is obvious that despite its age, the sculpture has been carefully preserved. This particular piece is from the 26th dynasty of Egyptian rule and is estimated to have been created between 664 and 525 BCE. It is unknown exactly who sculpted the figure. Since the actual date of the sculpture is unknown, it is logical that the sculptor is also a mystery.

Although the figure is fairly small, only standing 13 inches high, it…

Ancient art is filled with fabulous examples of various media and unique depictions of historical and cultural events. Much ancient art is symbolic, and much is literal. Some ancient art serves both a literal and a symbolic function. This is true for much in the Egyptian art canon. It is impossible to generalize about Egyptian art because of the great span of time the various empires straddled. However, there are many similarities in Egyptian style, media, and content. In New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art alone, there are several examples of two works of Egyptian art that are directly comparable. For example, "Yuny and His Wife enenutet" is a 19th Dynasty New Kingdom sculpture. It depicts the titular figures seated together on their throne. It is made of limestone, and the dimensions are about 33 inches high and 21 inches wide. The Metropolitan Museum of Art also has a New…

(Hall, 1974) Wings are additionally attributed to "Father Time, the winds and Opportunity, who all pass swiftly." (Hall, 1974) It is clear that wings when used in religious art are used in symbolic representations of beings that are divine, heavenly, or directly connected to the heavens and its creator. Wings are representative of heavenly beings, gods, or messengers of gods, or beings that are endowed with powers not of the realm of the earth. Wings also are symbols of protection and sheltering and this is particularly true in Egyptian art. While few studies exist in relation to wings and winged beings in ancient Peru, it is very likely that the representation of these in art symbolism is much akin to artistic representations in other cultures and since ancient Peruvians have been found to be buried with feathered garments it is likely that these individuals viewed wings and winged beings to…

Likewise, the dead were honored with elaborate preparation rituals to send them off into the next, permanent world of death. They were incased in enormous preservative monuments as well as several layers of coffins. Because of this elaborate nature of death ritual, and their focus on religious rituals, Egyptians were often credited by the Greeks for originating their religion, as "the Egyptians, they went on to affirm, first brought into use the names of the twelve gods, which the Greeks adopted from them; and first erected altars, images, and temples to the gods; and also first engraved upon stone the figures of animals." (Herodotus, Chapter II) the practice and the practice of religion, and the practice of art and the practice of burying the dead were conjoined for the Egyptians.

hy preserve the body so carefully? The Egyptians believed that the mummified body was the home for this soul or…

Other women, such as this slave girl, do not have any rights. On the grave is only Haegeso's father's name. In fact, this box of jewels probably represents part of the dowry Proxenos gave to his daughter's husband when she left her father's home to begin her life in her husband's. Marriages are arranged and a woman gives up all her belongings and rights when she is married. This is a patriarchal society with the woman as a second-class citizen (142).

In most cases, except for the Minoan culture, the women's status continued to decline as the culture became more structured and urban. Except for the earliest times, therefore, women have had a subservient role. This has not only been in Western society, but Eastern cultures as well. Women did not fare well in early Japan or China either. It has only been in the recent century that women have…

All of these examples show that there is no linear narrative of art, rather the construction of even so-called periods between different nations and periods lies in the mind of the beholding academic, not in some universal truth of what is art's history. Critics also have their own abysses, and their own sands of what seems familiar and unfamiliar. Even art periodization is subjective as art, it is not a science, and thus periods should not be taught as absolute standards and markers of art history.

Furthermore, other nations such as China have had different histories and different conceptions of what constitutes making art altogether, as well as different forms of periodization as a result. Western art's periods have been much more dynamic, and more characterized by seismic revolutions in aesthetics, as opposed to other nations. There is more blurring between what art is, and what has a practical religious…

For example, most (if not all) of the ancient Greek and Egyptian pottery that we find in museums was not considered art in its time of creation. They were made as practical pieces that were used for practical purposes. It was later when humans defined the word art that these relics were collected and renamed as art.

Another example of why art is hard to define and why it really depends on the time in history that makes a piece a work of art or not can be seen in the way in which many artists do not achieve success until after their deaths. It can be argued that true artists are often very in tune with what is going on in the culture and very aware of ways in which culture oppresses people or glorifies them. They are sensitive to what is going on in the world and perhaps…

Such works bring to mind Freud's theory of genital anxiety, which is present in both men and women. At the same time - and this is where Bourgeois's revolt against myth occurs - what would otherwise be seen as a fetish object for men is deployed here as a weapon instead. Thus, by subverting the feminine into a weapon, Bourgeois is simultaneously responding to the psychic myths of Western civilization and transgressing them in an effort to posit a new model of the real.

Throughout the course of his career, Anselm Kiefer has attempted to unite myth and history through an immense terrain of entangled cultural references and pictorial techniques. In doing so, Kiefer has effectively attempted to bear the weight of our collective historical tragedies and redemptive hopes that many artists in the last forty years have attempted to convey. Few of them, however, do it so effectively as…

Visual Imagery and Qualitative Dimensions of Life & Consciousness in Visual Art

Throughout history all cultures have produced works of art. The impulse to create as a means of personal expression and to stimulate the imagination of viewers is universal and perpetual. In their various manifestations, the arts play an important role in defining culture by presenting intelligent viewpoints of our present state of being, and by serving as a record of our past. The visual arts are a repository of those qualitative dimensions of life, which enhance our consciousness through the use of visual imagery.

The most exquisite expression of the self is through art, be it literature, history theatre, painting, sculptor and so on. From the wondrous Egyptian pyramids to the majestic statue of liberty, from eloquent Greek writer Homer - who produced masterpieces like the Odyssey - to 20th century literati like Palestinian journalist Edward Said -…

The children also rent decorated bikes to ride around town on for the holiday. It is a time for families to get together and celebrate with food and music and fellowship.

For a lot of families from working neighborhoods, Eid celebration also includes picnics in green areas including parks, zoos, botanical gardens and even green islands on major roads (Osama, 2004)."

Islam

Most of Egypt is Islam. Like Christians, the Islam followers trace their roots to Abraham and believe in one God who is universal. In Islam God is referred to as ALLAH which means One Universal God.

The Quran is the final revealed Word of God and provides the complete guide for human behavior. Its text was revealed directly to the prophet Muhammad between 610 and 632 C.E. Muhammad is revered by Muslims as the last of God's prophets but is not worshipped (Ahmad, 2005)."

Men and women are…

While the beaker is elegant, the vessel is beautiful to look at and would seem at home in a modern kitchen, which sets it apart from the beaker. Its design is timeless and useful, and it probably enjoyed everyday use in the Egyptian home. It does not seem to carry the same symbolic meaning as the beaker; it is simply a beautiful piece of decorative but useful glass to use in the home, while the beaker is clearly meant for more than a drinking beaker. Both works use detailed decoration as the basis for their design, and both designs are simple and yet elegant in their style and function. Both created around the same time, they show two very different sides of ancient artworks.

eferences

2007). Beaker with birds and animals. In Timeline of Art History. etrieved from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Web site: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/04/eusb/hod_47.100.88.htm26 July 2007.

2007). Four-handed…

Mummification as a Form of Art

It is mostly associated with religious rituals and tradition, but mummification is considered more than an accomplishment of ancient cultures of pre-historic peoples of human civilization. More than a symbol of ancient culture, mummification is also a form of art, wherein the process of mummification itself signifies knowledge of 'beautifying' the human form even after its death. The history of mummification and use of mummy as symbols of religious rituals started in the early 3400 .C.

Perhaps the well-known country where mummification was first practiced is in Egypt, known as home to thousands of mummies belonging to the pharaohs or leaders of the Egyptians during ancient civilization. While Egyptian mummies have been popularly known in Egypt, there are also areas where mummification is prevalent, particularly in the Andes Mountain in South America (Microsoft Encarta 2002).

Mummification was developed because of the ancient civilization's belief…

Art Deco

A long era of colonialism and imperialism led to a confluence of cultures at the start of the twentieth century. Art and design motifs could borrow from a perceived "exotic," an aesthetic from non-uropean cultures including those of Africa, India, the South Pacific, and the Far ast. The exotic made its way into Art Deco art, architecture, and design in terms of shapes, forms, motifs, colors, and materials. specially in the early Art Deco movement during the 1920s, so-called exotic materials such as zebra skin and dark woods made their way into furniture and decor.

For example, Jacques-mile Ruhlmann's dressing table from 1925 combines solid oak with ebony and ivory inlay design. The ebony and ivory both represent the exotic. The overall effect combines the familiar with the exotic, into new shapes, forms, and textures. The dressing table's shape, furthermore, is reminiscent of gyptian papyrus and has a…

Art

Since the Greek kouros, sculpture has depended on at least a basic understanding of human anatomy. Anatomy was in fact studied by ancient civilizations independently of its relevance to rendering the human body in two dimensions or three for art. The fusion of anatomy and art reached its first peak during the Renaissance, when artists in Europe longed to deepen their technique and enhance the realism of their human forms and figures. Some artists went so far as to paint anatomy lessons in a display of dramatic irony that brings the viewer face-to-face with the reality that art depends on a solid understanding of the human body. In the middle of the seventeenth century, Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn painted "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicholas Tulp," which depicts the titular doctor and his cadre of students with a corpse. Dr. Tulp uses a pair of scissors to slice…

art from three different cultures. Specifically it will discuss pieces from the Classical Greek, Indian Civilizations, and Egyptian Civilizations, including the meaning of the work and an art analysis of the work. Each of these different cultures produced very different works of art that were meant to entertain, enlighten, and be viewed for enjoyment. They used different techniques, but there were commonalities, as well. They represent some of the best and most beautiful artwork the world has ever seen.

The Classic Greek work of art I have chosen is the marble sculpture the Venus of Arles, which now resides in the Musee du Louvre in Paris. It is made of Hymettus marble and is thought to be as old as the third century BC. It is thought that the Venus was created by the sculptor Praxiteles, in an attempt to recapture his sculpting career. It is often called the Aphrodite…

Given some other details of the painting's construction, however, and specifically of the halo, this interpretation could be seen in an ironic light.

Most of the painting's colors are quit vibrant, with red and yellow dominating. There are several instances in the painting where certain objects seem to blend in with or fade into the background. The halo is one such object; in both color and size it is one of the least assuming objects in the painting, and almost no attention would be focused on it if not for its mention in the title. Gauguin could be ironically commenting on his attitude towards religion, hedonism, or just basic lust, but the near transparency of the halo makes it hard to accept as sincere.

The nearly complete use of space Gauguin employs in this painting has a nearly claustrophobic effect; even the fields of red and yellow that dominate, respectively,…

The spell here actually contains the gist of the myth itself, which is the threat of crocodiles. It is improbable here that a priest spontaneously composes an incantation against a crocodile in the afterlife without having registered the threat beforehand. It is more likely that the threat of carnivorous crocodiles awaiting the dead in the afterlife led to the precautions against it.

Conclusion

The five monolithic theories of myth are tremendously insightful and useful. However, as Kirk pointed out, "…analysis of myth should not stop when one particular theoretical explanation has been applied and found productive. Other kinds of explanation may also be valid." (Kirk, p. 39). The subtlety and pure strangeness of the myths should make us think twice about restricting ourselves to one monolithic theory in their interpretation.

ibliography

Pinch, G. (2004). Egyptian mythology: A guide to the gods, goddesses, and traditions of ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University…

Transformative Art

The artists that I have chosen to spotlight come from three continents and different ethnicities. They are actors, musicians, lyricists, rappers, poets, and comedians. They are also revolutionaries who are using art to transform the world that they live within into a better place.

Saul illiams

Saul illiams is an artist with many interests and abilities; he is hard to place in a single category. Saul illiams is a poet-both written and spoken; an actor; a philosopher; a rapper; a rock-star; a productive musician; a producer…and the list continues (illiams, Bio). No matter what genre illiams is creating within, one thing remains the same- namely, the theme underlying his work. In all of illiams's work, whether one looks in the albums, the movies, the song tracks, or the books, one can find illiams' commitment to transforming individuals by challenging and transforming how they think, what they believe, what…

Papyri

Awakening Osiris: The Egyptian ook of the Dead

The Egyptian ook of the Dead is a western title for an ancient collection of Egyptian manuscripts, the majority of which were funerary in nature. These collected writings have also been referred to as the Egyptian ible or identified by the names of the scribes who penned them. The Papyrus of Ani comprises the most significant contribution to these texts, though there are some other minor sources which are often included. In the original languages, these works were more accurately entitled the ooks of Coming Forth y Day. One of the greatest challenges to English-language speakers when confronting all the great scriptures is the language gap. Unless one has the time and inclination to learn Arabic, Hindi, Hebrew, Greek -- or in this case, Egyptian Heiroglyphs -- it becomes necessary to read the scriptures in translation. The farther removed one's own…

Video Games -- Artistic Medium

Our media-rich environment, in which digital technologies are proliferating faster than our cultural, legal, or educational institutions can keep up with them ... addresses our culture's contradictory imperatives for immediacy and hypermediacy" (Bolton, et al., 1999).

Should video games, which are interactive and bring a sense of immediacy to the participant, be considered an art form? Is it pushing the envelope too far to assert that video players are not only having fun and engaging in friendly competition, they are participating in an art form? This paper delves into that subject and points to the available scholarly literature that supports the idea that video games constitute an artistic medium.

The Literature on Video Games as an Artistic Medium

In the scholarly publication Library Technology Reports (LTR, 2006) the writer notes that increasingly "all types of libraries" are adding the phrase "gaming and libraries" to their…

Myth in a Work of Art

Albert Camus was born on the 7th of November 1913 in Algeria from a French father and a Spanish mother. His father died in the First World War (seriously wounded in the battle of the Marne, he died a month later), so that Camus was raised by his mother and never knew his father. Camus spent his childhood in Alger, in his grandmother's house, where he received his first education. Later on, he passed onto to primary school under the tutorship of Louis German, to whom Camus will bear a strong gratitude his whole life and whom he mentioned in his acceptance speech upon winning the Nobel price in 1957. It was German that first encouraged Albert Camus in his studies and who convinced him to pursue a higher education within the Algiers University. During his time at the university, he founded the Theatre…

Chinese First Emperor as with the Egyptian pharaohs, the tomb was a microcosm of the world that they knew in life, and filled with the objects that they would use in the afterlife. In early times, servants, soldiers, concubines and entertainers were even put to death so they could serve the monarch in the next world, although later these were mostly represented by statues and replicas. For the First Emperor of China, the tom was an elaborate "analogue of life," reportedly constructed by 700,000 men over many years -- far more than the number of workers used by the Egyptian pharaohs to build their tombs and pyramids (awson, 2007, p. 123). He even had a terracotta army with cavalry, archers, chariots and thousands of troops buried in pits to defend him from his enemies in the next world, along with stone armor to protect against evil spirits. Pit 1 had…

11th Cairo Biennale, which took place December 20, 2008 to February 20, 2009. The theme of the Biennale was "The Other," which means Those is no one other than myself in this society, but the Biennale challenged artists to overlook that, and practice "diversity and tolerance." The president of the Biennale was Mohsen Shaalon, and the commassaire was Ehab El-Labban. Included were 86 artists from 45 countries, including one from the United States. The Cairo Biennale is one of the largest, most prestigious art shows in the Middle East. Organized in 1984, artists from around the world participate in this biannual event held in several venues throughout Cairo.

It is an honor to participate in the Cairo Biennale, because it is organized by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture's Sector of Fine Art, who organize and maintain the strict rules and regulations affecting artists who show their work in the Biennale.…

Statue of an Offering Bearer' (c.1985 BC)

The work of art to be considered in this paper is a statue from Ancient Egypt. The statue is large, nearly four feet in height (112.1cm), and consists of a female figure standing on a substantial rectangular base. The material used is carved wood treated with gesso, a water-based preparation consisting of glue and gypsum or chalk (Aldred, 1980, p. 24), and elaborately painted. The statue depicts a woman carrying a basket on her head, and holding a bird in her right hand. The figure is upright and slender, with the left leg advanced slightly and the left foot placed slightly ahead of the right, giving the impression that she is in the act of taking a step forward. The left arm is raised to steady the basket on the woman's head, while the right arm is held straight downwards, in line with…

Nok Culture

The Mystery of the Nok Culture

Only within the last century years has the Western world realized the extent of civilization present in ancient Africa. Up until this time, and throughout most of the colonization of Africa, Europeans had been able to overlook the remarkable civilizations of this continent, quietly believing that the only artifact-producing ancient civilizations were isolated in such known locations as Greece, Rome, Egypt, and the Middle East. Then, in 1936, in a small tin mine near the village of Nok, excavators found a small terra cotta sculpture, apparently the head of a monkey. As Gadalla reports, "We do not know what the people called themselves, so the culture was named after the town of Nok where the first object was found." (Gadalla, 143) This early name, drawn from a speculative ignorance, prefigured the decades of ignorance to come. To this day, despite the fact…

Greek Classical Era on Christian Art

The fifth century B.C.E. initiated a new philosophy in Greek art. hile before this era, Greek representations of the human form tended to be static and relatively stylized (much like Egyptian art), the Classical era exhibited a notable break with previous artistic images. Representations of the human form became much more realistic. Knowledge of anatomy combined with an ideology that celebrated and idealized the human form (while still keeping it recognizably human) characterized the style of this era, as can be seen in one of the wonders of the ancient world, the Tomb of Mausolus (Asia Minor, 359-351 B.C.E.). One famous relief on the Tomb depicts Greek warriors and Amazon women in combat. Both the soldiers and the women are intricately detailed in terms of the folds of their clothing and musculature. Both sides are also perfectly proportioned and while all look recognizably human,…

Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut is an example of Egyptian religious art. Most of Egyptian art had a religious significance either relating to the gods or to the Egyptian pharaohs (who were given a near-divine status even while they lived on earth). According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the statue dates from the Middle Kingdom and "stood in the temple of Mentuhotep II, just south of Hatshepsut's monument. According to the inscription on the base, 'Maatkare' (Hatshepsut) is represented here as 'the one who gives Maat to Amun.' Maat was the goddess of order, right balance, and justice, and for a king to offer an image of Maat to another deity meant reaffirming that this was the guiding principle of his/her rule."[footnoteRef:1] The inscription stresses how the virtues of the goddess were embodied in the ruler. [1: Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Available: http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/100000735…

However, even though their paintings, carvings and sculptures probably served a more functional purpose than otherwise, this does not mean that they didn't want to add aesthetic value to those things. In the case of this funerary sculpture, however, there is very little aesthetic value added to it, which makes one think that its purpose was purely functional and that it served a very specific purpose.

Eros, on the other hand, made out of terracotta was most likely created for a different usage than that of Osiris. Muratov (2011) states that terracotta figurines in Ancient Greece were used in houses as decorations or they sometimes served as "cult images in small house shrines; some of them functioned as charms to ward off evil." Sometimes they were brought to temples and were given as offerings to the gods, but sometimes they were put on graves as "cherished possessions of the deceased,…

The earliest divisions of the temple still standing are the barque chapels, just in the rear the first pylon. They were constructed by Hatshepsut, and appropriated by Tuthmosis III. The central division of the temple, the colonnade and the sun court were constructed by Amenhotep III, and a later on addition by Rameses II, who constructed the entry pylon, and the two obelisks connected the Hatshepsut structures with the core temple. To the back of the temple are chapels constructed by Tuthmosis III, and Alexander. During the Roman age, the temple and its environment were a legionary fortress and the residence of the Roman government in the region (Johnson, 1988).

There was a girdle wall constructed around the temple that was made up of self-sufficient massifs of sun-dried brick adjoining at their ends, constructed of courses set on a triple arrangement that ran concave horizontal concave. The gate through which…

Akhenaten was one of the great pharaoh's of Egypt that is still the object of much introspection, question and mystery. Akhenaten's reign has been characterized as notable in relation to the many unusual changes the pharaoh instituted while leading the people of Egypt. Many authors have theorized that the pharaoh was a revolutionary, though somewhat of a self-absorbed leader. Indeed many aspects of the pharaoh's reign are still the subject of much speculation and contemplation. Supposition and theory even exists as to the physical well being and stature of the pharaoh, depicted by many historians as unusual or strange in appearance. The idea that Akhenaten may have suffered from a disorder of the psyche or from a lack of self-esteem due to his physical appearance is one that warrants further exploration.

Akhenaten is often not credited as being one of the great pharaoh's, his name is not as well-known as…

Battle of Kadesh

It is difficult for us to understand the concept of war in ancient days. In our era of modern warfare, computer guided munitions and instant communication with troops on the other side of a city of on the other side of the globe; our ideas of war have significantly changed over the past few decades. Even a war such as World War Two will likely never be fought again. During WWII, it was possible to hide troop movements, and move faster than enemy intelligence. However, today, the presence of airborne and waterborne weapon platforms allows individual nations to be positioned in the event of battle before the first shot is fired.

However, such was not the case in ancient times. Armies of stronger forces and overwhelming numbers could be defeated because of simple tactical mistakes. A single unknown troop could distract a superior force long enough to…

Palette of Narmer is one of the most significant Egyptian archeological finds. The palette is given very high importance because it dates back to 31st century BC and it contains certain hieroglyphic inscriptions that are considered to be some of the earliest. The fascinating inscriptions on the palette are said to depict the unification of Egypt under the rule of king Narmer. Following is an analysis of the both sides of the palette in light of the scholarly literature.

How does the Palette of Narmer describe the unification of Egypt?

After a detailed analysis of the inscriptions on both sides of the palette, it has been determined that the palette represents the unification of Egypt. The top of the palette features similar inscriptions on both sides. The top consists of two bovine heads with the name of a king inscribed in the middle in what is said to be 'serekh'.…

Trip to Paris Account

Multicultural France

France has been a multicultural for over two hundred years. Many of the early settlers came from all over Europe, some of them are Romans, Celts, Franks, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, among others. In fact by 1930, France was already experiencing a higher percentage of foreighners in terms of its population compared to United States.

Economic forms an essential part of any discussion of migration and immigration because many cases of migration is facilitated by economic gain, for example majority of early immigrant who went to France were attracted by opportunities in agriculture, construction work, and manufacture which are part of economics. In addition, demand for labor due to economic expansion and industrial growth facilitated mass immigration in France.

French nation has been influenced by immigrants. Nations that were colonies of France formed part of the French republic therefore in order for integration France…

Marble Statue of a Kouros, Greek, Archaic Period, c. 590-580 BCE

Ancient Greece was a place of incredible artistry in terms of architecture, playwriting, and sculpture. So much of what is known about the Greeks has been learned through their artwork. Many of the pieces of Ancient Greek art are available to be seen in history and art museums around the world. In the present moment, by looking at the artworks which have been discovered that date back to the period of the Ancient Greeks, modern scholars can interpret what differences occurred in the various epochs of the era, such as the types of artwork created, the subjects which were given the most importance, and the mediums employed. The subject of the sculpture in particular can explain a great deal about the specific epoch in terms of clothing, armaments, and other aspects. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New…

Museums in Paris

The Louvre Museum can be categorized as one of the world's largest and most magnificent museums. It also marks a monument and an attractive sightseeing location for tourists from all over the world. Standing near the River Seine and stretching over 60,000 meters square, this museum has its own unique history.

The museum was a transformation from the Louvre Palace, built as a fortress for King Louis XIV. He considered the Palace too small for his needs and then went on to making the Palace of Versailles. He left behind this beautifully structured monument to become the museum of beautiful art. The Louvre Museum was initiated in 1793 with initially just 537 paintings. Many of these were the confiscated church paintings and the others were donations from the prestigious and powerful people of the time. Slowly and gradually, the collection of the museum started increasing under Napoleon…

The bronze cools and the plaster mold is broken. The sculpture is cleaned, ground and welded to blend the surface texture. Finally, the bronze sculpture is treated with chemicals and heat to give it color or "patina" when it reacts with the air (Hatcher 72-74). Now one can easily see all the creativity, time and resources that went into this sculpture.

How different from odin's sculpture is this second piece of art, "The Oath of Horatii" by Jacques-Louis David. In about 1781, very early in his career as artist, David started thinking about the Horatii from a play dealing with Ancient oman history: The oman Horatii (named after legendary triplets) and the Alban Curatii were chosen to fight each other to death in order to determine the stronger town. The two families fighting were related by marriage, so it would be a tragedy no matter who was victor. Horatii won…

intended familiarize incredible research tool -- online databaseID

Gurstein, Rochelle. "The Elgin Marbles, Romanticism & the Waning of 'Ideal Beauty.'"

Daedalus, 131. 4 (Fall, 2002), pp. 88-100. Stable URL: [30 Mar 2012]

The bringing of the Elgin Marbles to the British Museum was intended to herald in a new era of neoclassical art but instead, the unexpectedly vital and lifelike images depicted on the Marbles caused many emerging British artists to rethink how they had conceptualized the classical era as one of idealized, static perfection.

The Elgin Marbles were one of the most controversial acquisitions of the House of Commons. The Marbles were purchased for the British Museum from Lord Elgin in 1816, who had amassed a vast array of treasures from Greece, including the famous friezes torn off from the surface of the Parthenon. In doing so, the House of Commons was viewed by many, even at the time,…

Herbert eed saw these bronze sculptures as "apparitions," or "primordial images projected from the deepest level of the unconscious, and they illustrate the truth that the artist is essentially the instrument of unconscious forces" (Mitchinson 1998, p. 246). Others see the uprights as Moore's reflection of World War I, or bombs cut in half lengthways to show their internal workings, giving a long, smooth and rounded shape at the back and a complex series of mechanical forms at the front. In this case, he is anthropomorphizing the bombs by adding facial parts. egardless, these sculptures are highly abstract and ambivalent, impacting people in different ways (Mitchinson 1998)

It is most likely more the case that Moore's uprights are not dark and pessimistic recreations of bombs. When he first saw the prehistoric stone monoliths at Stonehenge in the 1930s, he was elated and began to try different types of sculptures: "I…