Colurial Statue Of Pharaoh And The Colossal Statue Of Athena Parthenos

The definition of art is notoriously difficult and is a field of philosophical inquiry as such. The meaning of the word "art" are multiple, sediment and cross each other in the language. Missing uses of the word are present in expressions and help to make the subject more that difficult. However, according to my studies, art is an expression, a symbolic way to communicate. Its key is to make something subject or scientific, for instance: an object that went through certain modification would be consider an art. We have a different type of arts but I will only be focusing on this tree types: prehistoric art, art of the ancient near east and art of ancient Egypt.

We can see peoples’ interaction through art. Art itself can be used for various purpose like for showing splendor, ritual, propaganda, and power. All culture shows those aspect like in ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Minoans. However, Minoan had a different approach compared to the others, which make unique.

What makes the sculpture different from others of this time period are two things; the subject matter, in that it depicts no god, nor Pharaoh only a mortal human writing in a mostly illiterate society. Secondly it demonstrates age shown in sagging muscles and rotund belly. Due to this relaxed style we can gather that the subject is not a Pharaoh as it was dishonourable to insinuate that they aged as they were supposed to be gods on earth.

During this period of time, the sculptures were produced first to celebrate ancient mystery cults and sacrifices of victorious military heroes and then to value the role of the Gods and Goddesses by their power and divinity. As more divine they were, it was considered to be a more religious sculpture piece. The sculptures of Gods and Goddesses were built as a form of remembering them through the years and their impact in the Roman society.

Throughout different time periods and civilizations come many different types of art that would never be comparable to those of another time or place. There are also the pieces that come from a completely different time and place, but yet they can still be compared to one another. The Torso of a God (Egyptian, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, last decade of the reign of Amenhotep III, Granodiorite, 1359-1349 B.C.) and the Statue of Asklepios (Greek, Hellenistic period, Pentelic Marble, 2nd century B.C.) are two sculptures made hundreds of years apart, yet they both display many similarities and show how art is constantly changing whilst keeping the same core ideas.

When it comes to the existence of objects that have morphed and changed, in part due to their perception throughout the course of history, it does not take long before one begins to consider objects of exceedingly long, cylindrical, and rounded nature. The reader has but to consider the iconically Ionic columns of the Parthenon, the obelisks of ancient Egypt, or the steles of Persia before realizing the true extent to which such objects have been the focus of ancient, and present, attention.

First of all, the sculpture will fill our lives with the beauty of art as citizens. For example, “the History of Public Art” article gives a background on ancient greek statues and temples, and it states that the “structures helped unite the citizens of the communities of which they stood by providing a concrete focus for national identity and pride” (The History of Public Art). For

In the late 19th century, the Seated Statue of Ramesses II was uncovered in the Temple of Harsaphes, Heracleopolis, by Sir William Flinders Petrie (Horne 1985, 22). Currently, it rests in the Mummies Gallery in the Egyptian section of the Penn Museum. The king sits heroically with his hands resting on his lap and wears the nemes headdress on his head. Made of quartzite sandstone, the statue sits at an impressive height of 226 cm, with a width of 74 cm and length of 149 cm. On his arms, there are faint traces of red and the nemes headdress has touches of blue and yellow. When it was originally crafted, the statue’s colors would have been more prominent than they currently are; there also would have been a false beard inset that has been lost to history.

The greeks also saw their gods in human form. Sculptures, however, were not just for artistic reasons. They were used for memorials, offerings for temples, and markers for graves. In archaic periods sculptures were not made to be depictions of actual individuals but for depictions of ideals. In the classical period sculptures become more natural looking.

Sculptures came in a variety of shapes and sizes. They were often made of wood, metal, cloth, or clay. These sculptures served as personal protection figures, symbols for supernatural powers, and representation of ancestors. Most sculptures were made to represent the human body, but some cultures never carve human faces so it resembled any individual in fear of accusations of witch craft. A great example of one such sculpture is Cango and Zaire.

The Parthenon is located on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece; is a former temple which was dedicated to Greek goddess Athena, whom the Athens considered their leader. According to the British Museum (2015), The Parthenon was built nearly 2500 years ago and has a long and complex history. After thousands of years it became a church of the Virgin Mary of the Athenians, then a mosque and then finally resulted in a archaeological ruin. After the result of a ruin, the buildings were reformed in which various sculptures were damaged. During the 1800’s after the Parthenon being damaged, the Elgin marbles (Elgin) a part of the remaining sculpture, was removed and given to a British museum. For hundreds of years there has been a question if the British museum should return the Elgin marbles back to the Athenians or not. I believe that that the safest and most beneficial place for the Elgin marbles is the British museum, therefore the British should not return the marble to the Athenians.

The form of art has been around for thousands of years. There has been many different types of art form found from the ancient greece times. These time are the earliest times that are recorded and are placed in museums. These early art forms teaches us a little bit about the human race and how they were back in the roman times. There are some painting and sculptures that represents different people from their time lines. These art form can explain how they were back in their times and with the statues you can see how far they were allowed to do.

     Like African paintings, poetry, and woodcarvings, sculptures tell a tale and immortalize cultures and beliefs. Different artists have different styles (African Arts Information). Materials and styles differ from village to village. Most sculptors use green wood, copper, tin, zinc alloys, bronze, ivory, or terra cotta, a kind of earth ware. Most sculpture figures are believed to contain ancestor’s spirits. Others represent sacred ideas or events (Fetzer 106). Some objects are said to be magical and believed to have magical powers (African Arts). Africans carve figures, make masks, and decorate articles for ceremonies (Fetzer 106).

The Colossal Statue of King Tutankhamen and the Lamassu are two very remarkable pieces in the history of artwork. The Lamassu is an enormous piece in weight as well as height. The Colossal Statue of King Tutankhamen is also an enormous piece, but instead, the height is the only thing that sets it apart from the Statue of King Tutankhamen. The height of both pieces is very intimidating because they are both taller in relation to people. With both pieces being this tall, the viewer is able to interact with the pieces more than the smaller ones. The statues are both reliefs, but the Colossal Statue of King Tutankhamen is around relief. This statue allows the viewers to walk around the statue and get a clear idea of what the artist was trying to express with this piece. The Lamassu is also a relief sculpture, but instead, the viewer is unable to fully walk around the relief. This artwork can only be seen from the very front as well as the side, this was how the artist intended to express the artwork.

Ancient Egyptians, Aztecs, Incas and Mayans created many meticulous pieces of art. Some of the meticulous pieces of art are masks, pyramids, jewelry, wall paintings, tombs, sarcophagi. The primal Romans and Greeks showed their appreciation of life through art. India used art to show their dance and their religions. The African art is symbolic of their tribal cuffs as seen of their totem poles.