BBC How Art Made The World 1: More Human Than Human

The ancient Greeks believed in a strong mind and a strong body. Their celebration of the physical beauty and ability of the human body can be seen in their sculpture, writings, and sporting events. The physical beauty of the human body is shown in the marble sculpture “Kraisos” (Benton and DiYanni 64). The sculpture shows a male with a defined muscular mid-section, broad shoulders, and thick legs. There is more detail and a more natural appearance in this sculpture compared to a similar statue from approximately 60 years earlier. The face of the sculpture is realistic and the left foot is forward, as seen in Egyptian sculpture. The art of thought was established by the philosophers of ancient

Greek culture is the source from which many of the characteristic elements of Western culture derive. Their explorations and innovations in art have both fascinated and inspired other civilizations for centuries. For this assignment I chose two Greek sculptures viewed at the Getty Museum. The first is Kouros circa 530 B.C. made of Dolomitic marble from Thasos and is approximately 200 cm (80 in) in height. The second is Cult Statue of a Goddess, (most likely Aphrodite) South Italy, 425 - 400 B.C. made of Limestone and marble. It stands at a height of 220 cm (86 5/8 in). There is some dispute to the authenticity of the Getty Kouros

The figure sculptures of Khafre Enthroned and Kritios Boy exhibit a start and end point in an evolution of artistic technique. Although a single male figure is the subject of both works, canon clearly develops from Khafre Enthroned to Kritios Boy. Both works express a desire for perfection with the use of contrasting ideals. Egyptian artists prized completeness and timeless to achieve a god-like representation. Later, artistic form advances as Greeks sought naturalism and

Throughout history the human figure has been demonstrated in Middle Eastern, Egyptian and Greek sculptures and paintings. Most of these artifacts tend to focus more on humanism than realism due to Rulers and Gods, geographical areas, resources and events thus, giving them the idea for the theme of the art they create. These are the reasons that might explain their commonalities or differences in the representation of the human figure.

The “human form” has changed through art over long periods of time and how each civilization uses their own style to create these pieces is how art gets its depth. I'm going to be talking about one of each sculpture from every major period and explain how each one has its own flavor and own unique style. I will be talking about the Prehistoric period, Egyptian style, Greek style and Roman styles. I also have a list of vocabulary words i will be pointing out in bold to explain how these are used in sculptures.

Throughout the years humans have had the tendency to record their daily lives and events. In other words, the art of each era reflects the society and mentality of the civilians. This is why each era has a different way of depicting the human body and how the story they tell is narrated. This research paper will compare between the depiction of the human body in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. Ancient Egypt art was at the start of art history, which was between 3000 BC and 400 AD. The Egyptians wanted to focus more on realism and narrating the story rather than showing the exact details, they wanted everything to be clear and show what was happening in their daily lives rather than show the positions, they didn’t have deficiencies, they were more keen on portraying the whole image. Meanwhile The Ancient Greek art had something equivalent to the Ancient Egyptian art in the cultural part, where they both were obsessed with precision and order. They believed their Gods took human form, that’s why they always had this mentality of portraying the human figure perfectly. They related perfection to the athletic

Hellenistic art was engaged more on perfection of the human frame, accuracy and detail. Models from Greek times looked more God-like than human. Hellenic art depended on the new thought of authenticity. Hellenic figures were molded into sensible, blamed human structures. Art in the Hellenic world art epitomized richness, cheerful nature, and coarse with. Marble statues and reliefs described human greatness and sensuality. Art in Hellenistic world emphasize extraordinary naturalism and unashamed luxury. Art in Hellenistic and Hellenic showed feelings and other components filled with different

Nudity has been an essential aspect in Western art. After the Renaissance, this is when the nudity was exploited as humans in their natural state. The nude form first was conquered by the ancient Greeks from approximately two thousand five hundred years ago. The Greeks celebrated the human body and cultivated the mastery of the human body through these sculptures of David. Rubens captures the nudity of Venus and makes her seen pure and compelling. When taking a glance at this masterpiece, one is immediately fixated and dragged in, it is a piece that cannot be missed. Ruben’s expression in this piece can be defined as timeless. Historians conclude that besides the magnificent Michelangelo, no other painter had a greater knowledge of the human body and visual power as Rubens. This is how he is able to cultivate these mythological pieces, and incorporate much detail. There is much life in Rubens’ painting, through the vibrant hues and how he depicts Venus and Adonis as these massive creatures. Figures depicted in art are more often nude then one would think. It is seen the human body is at its ideal state when artist depict the figure as nude. It is seemed as heroic because humans are compelled to see how artist illustrate the human body. Hence why the male and female body is the central theme of western art. When thinking about the human form, there is nothing more compelling, which is why the theme is still prominent in modern and contemporary

In many ways Roman sculpture went further than the Greek’s with magnificent displays of humanism and opulent Gods. Greek sculptures focused on extremely masculine portrays of man but with dimensions that were more or less reasonable in comparison to our human bodies. They were looking for perfection of a physical human body, and in the way the human body was sculpted. The Roman’s would put on great displays of grandeur, examples that can be seen through the busts and full-length sculptures such as Augustus of Prima

How can we connect the new tastes in Hellenistic sculpture with changes in the everyday reality of an average Greek?

The sculptures and paint show details how society viewed and interpreted women body, sexuality, and maternity. In addition, revealed that these women were protected from threats around them with ornaments. Civilizations since early times, believed that we were in permanent threat from forces we do not see or cannot explain and because of it, we protected ourselves with artificial elements in a form of jewelry, crowns or caps. This idea has been continue from one generation to the next to the point that in modern societies some of us still use this type of protection in our bodies (e.g., small cross, divine images, tattoos, etc.).These pieces of art also indicate that humans believed in gods with superpowers and they are looking over us constantly. Humanity also believes in dark forces or demons trying to makes us do things that would upset the good gods. Some of the differences between these sculptures and paint are the material in which each one of them were created. The first figure, the Woman of Willendorf was carved in limestone, the second piece, the portrait of Queen Tiye was carved in wood and the last piece, the Virgin and Child Icon was created of tempera on a wood. You can also notice how the details on their faces and bodies changes throughout the time and years. The woman of Willendorf figurine offers details of a voluptuous nude women’s body but there is not face, or feet. Queen Tiye statue shows the face of a woman in detail closed to the gods but without any body parts and lastly The Virgin and Child Icon, is an expression of divinity of the views, reflections and beliefs from the gospel. Because communities started to innovate on the art of carving and painting, populations began to discover and/or create art with the objective of expressing different purposes of our daily lives, such as the beauty of a woman’s body, or to commemorate an ancient

When analyzing the artwork one can see the influence of what we now understand to be art form, through the numerous art elements the painting of Queen Nefertari and Isis has. Starting with lines, the artist uses many types of both regular and irregular, to create the hieroglyphics and the shape of the women along with what they wear. The ancient Egyptians liked to have things in order and consistent. We see the proof for this behind their canon of proportions method. In order to make complex figures easier to depict, the traditional style and trademark of ancient Egyptian artworks show everything drawn or carved to be two-dimensional in shape. However, they also wanted to show the aspects they valued the most as a society. As stated in the film How Art Made The World, in the case of the human body ancient Egyptian chose to show each body part from its clearest angel; and as a result of a keeping the figures 2-D, the chest is shown straight on, the face is shown in profile but the eyes were drawn straight on, the arms and hands can be

I was drawn to this time period as well as these two sculptures. As I researched both sculptures I was fascinated by how much respect the people of that time had for their women. Not only for what they could do for them, but also for what they looked like. They didn’t see the weight and size as a grotesque thing; but more as a thing of beauty. In

Art is a catalyst of change. It can confront both social and political issues as well as providing people with a creative outlet in which they can express their innermost thoughts and feelings - but what effect can art have on our society as a whole? Artists today have the unique ability to connect with people in a creative, innovative way that they can understand and interpret themselves. With this ability, artists are able to express their own views as well as influencing the views of others. Art is an immense part of our world – so much so that we barely even consider its impact upon us – but just how significant is the work of artists in our modern day society?

Art is not just a picture on a wall or in a museum, art comes in many forms. It can be a song you just heard, a video you watched, or a painting you saw in a gallery. Also, art can be just text. All forms of art grasp you in different ways and make your thoughts evolve to new distances. Art can bring you feelings you did not think you had. You can perceive the art in many ways and the creator wants it to influence you. I believe that yes, at can truly influence society and inform human behavior. While it may seem to some that pictures, songs, and videos influence you the most, it is actually true that books are the most influential and informative because they get in touch with your mind and emotions.