1.6 Compare & Contrast: From the 4th Century to the 20th Century It is important to notice how far the depiction of this literary myth has come from the 4th century to the 20th century. We see that both visual depictions are of different styles as well as mediums. Compared to the mosaic, the placement of the figures is very similar. In Waterhouse’s work, Narcissus appears to be feminised with his longer hair and his thin body frame, compared to the mosaic, which depicts Narcissus as a strong warrior. According to Trippi, Waterhouse used female models to paint males (2002). As a result, Waterhouse’s depiction of Narcissus compares with Ovid’s Narcissus as the figure was seen as a feminised and beautiful male that had both male and female admirers. …show more content…
This movement argued that art had no purpose or function other than to be beautiful and appeasing to the eye of the viewer. The claim was if an art piece had a meaning more than beauty, it was not defined as art. Oscar Wilde’s views of aestheticism are communicated in the preface of Dorian Gray where the writer states that ‘books are well written or badly written/That is all’ as well as ‘arts for art’s sake’ (Greenblatt, 2012). In relation to Waterhouse and his painting, aestheticism does not apply as the work generates meaning and a function for the time it was created, which has been discussed, as well as for today. Individually these figures represent issues that have been prominent in the last 3 to 4 centuries, which are the idea of the right of speech and identity, especially for the female race and the idea of positive and negative self image and self …show more content…
This translates within other literary versions, secondary readings as well as visual images which depict the myth. According to Spaas, Ovid’s text is the only version that depicts Echo’s story (2000, p. 91). In essence, Echo’s role in the story is very transparent but essential to the telling of Narcissus’s story as it displays the revealing nature of the man and his eventual
The long nose and pointed chin are two distinct features of Cleopatra that are demonstrated by the image on the coin that sepeate her from those that play her today. In his ‘A.D. 75 Life of Antony’ Plutarch himself professes, “Her actual beauty … was not so remarkable that none could be compared with her… but the contact of her presence … was irresistible”. As a consequence, it can be understood that it is ancient sources that possibly provide the truest image of her, being from the period of her life. That is not to say however, that ancient sources have incorporated a complete truth. This can be seen with the evidence provided by Roman and Latin sources.
Aestheticism was a popular dogma in the late 1800s that centered on the belief that art should exist for beauty alone. This doctrine is defined as an “exaggerated devotion to art, music, or poetry, with indifference to practical matters” and “the acceptance of artistic beauty and taste as a fundamental standard, ethical and other standards being secondary” (“Aestheticism,” def. 1 and 2). In Oscar Wilde’s sole novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, aestheticism is a fashionable belief accepted by society at the time. Oscar Wilde uses the moral deterioration and ultimate destruction of Dorian Gray in The Picture of Dorian Gray to emphasize the negative effects of society’s preoccupation with aesthetics and offer a moral for the reader.
This essay explores the various types of art used in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The focus is made on the three types of art: the picture of Dorian Gray, the yellow book and the actress. It examines the way Wilde chooses to develop his novel’s characters’ personalities and destinies by asking: what is the role of art
CCOT ESSAY: Analyze continuities and changes in the ways ONE of the following regions participated in interregional trade during the period circa 1500 to 1750.
This article is of use to the contextualization of Ancient Greek Art as it presents the sultriness of the times, including the possibly more liberal perspective men and women during those times had about the human body. Through the article, there are images and memories relating to the myths of those times which have been repressed. This article provides a more playful and romantic perspective of Ancient Greek Art, one which very much views the human body as a
Homer’s epic, The Iliad, highlights the influence and jurisdiction that beauty provides. The prizes and glory a man accumulates from war measure his power, while beauty measures a woman’s power. Since conquering a woman is the ultimate prize to a man, her beauty represents ultimate power. Though the beauty of mortal women has the power to turn men against each other, mortal women have no influence over this power and are instead objectified by men. Immortal women, however, have authority over their beauty and are able to control men with their power. Helen, on the other hand, though mortal, has the beauty of a goddess. Yet, Helen is bound by her fate to Paris, making her power obsolete. By presenting Helen’s hopeless power and supplying the reader with insight on her suffering through her thoughts, Helen is portrayed as a tragic hero.
Studies concerning the lives of women in classical Athens have sparked much controversy because, despite the apparent fascination with femininity manifested in art and drama, we have no evidence voicing the opinions of the actual women themselves. This presents a
The Greco-Roman society was a very patriarchal society. This is reflected throughout the myths in classical mythology. By looking at the classic mythology we will see that the roles women portrayed are very different than women’s roles in today’s society. Although there are a few similarities to women’s roles in today’s society, their roles are more like those women in the past. We can see this by looking at the attributes of Greco-Roman female gods and looking at the roles women play in the myths. By comparing the roles of women in the myths with women’s roles today we will see that the roles have many differences and few similarities.
Art has evolved and regenerated itself many times during our human existence. These differences are defined through changes in styles under various theories. During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, a style known as Expressionism became popular. During this movement the artists were trying to use their artwork as a tool of expression toward life. It was mainly dominant in the nonrepresentational arts, such as abstract visual arts and music. It also was probably one of the most difficult movements to understand because the whole point of the piece lay within the artist. Not only was it a movement, it defined the act of art as a whole. From the beginning of time, each work of art, excluding replicas, show a way of expressing
The sculpture Apollo and Daphne, created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, is based off a story from Book 1 of Ovid's Metamorphoses. It is a portrayal of when Daphne is turned into a tree when trying to escape Apollo after they were both shot with an arrow by Eros. The sculpture is a powerful visual of Daphne and Apollo’s emotions as Daphne was captured by him. To evaluate the photo further I will discuss the feeling of empathy the sculpture made me feel and two connections the sculpture has to Ovid’s story.
While Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s sculpture “Apollo and Daphne” depicts a Romanian story of forbidden love, Ron Mueck’s “Two Women” portray two elderly women hyper-realistically. By analysing the meaning behind the two sculptures, evidence is given that the two artists had different intentions for their work. The story “Apollo and Daphne” is from a roman poem named “Metamorphoses” by a man named Ovid. In the story, Apollo is hit by a magical arrow from a god of
Throughout history, specifically in ancient Rome and Greece, people admired painting to the point where it was taught to every son of respectable families, yet forbidden to the slaves. This goes to show how this form of art in particular was considered fit only to those of high social class. Although it was reserved for the educated and cultured, painting attracted everyone and pleased them equally. In particular, “[n]ature herself delights in painting.”(Alberti 64) Alberti persists in showing us how painting is of nature; he first references nature by saying that Narcissus was the inventor of painting. In the myth of Narcissus, nature plays the role of the artist who paints a portrait so beautiful that Narcissus cannot take his eyes off of it. To further convince the reader of the pleasures painting gives, the author recounts a personal anecdote of how gratifying and relaxing painting can be.
The heroes in Greek and Roman mythology had the characteristics of violent masculinity and bravery, the ideology of a patriarchal society in which all the men were elite than the women. According to Kampmen in Gender Theory in Roman Art, “Roman society evolved in such a way as to enable elite men to establish and maintain power over everyone else, ” such men included heroes like Hercules, Achilles, and Pentheus (1996, p.152). They represented the elite males who had stable physical attributes that emphasized their masculinity and heroism. Heroes like the ones mentioned above had been idolized and worshiped with cults due to their works in helping their societies to fight monsters, the gods also favored them. Gender is emphasized by one 's appearance, dressing being the primary attribute. The mythic narratives of Achilles on Scyros, Hercules and Omphale and lastly Pentheus and Dionysus give a rather strange definition on the characteristics of heroes when they crossdress. In this essay, I shall discuss how male heroes characteristics become subverted than emphasized due to the myths of cross-dressing.
Abstract Expressionism is making its comeback within the art world. Coined as an artist movement in the 1940’s and 1950’s, at the New York School, American Abstract Expressionist began to express many ideas relevant to humanity and the world around human civilization. However, the subject matters, contributing to artists, were not meant to represent the ever-changing world around them. Rather, how the world around them affected the artist themselves. The works swayed by such worldly influences, become an important article within the artists’ pieces. Subjectively, looking inward to express the artist psyche, artists within the Abstract Expressionism movement became a part of their paintings. Making the paintings more of a representation
Modernism has found new expressions in art which in turn have changed how people critic and understand art, in this essay I am going to focus more on abstract expressionism. Debates in this movement have gone as far as influencing many artists and the two well-known critics who have made this movement more remarkable and have changed the art world completely are Clement Greenberg and Ronald Rosenberg. On the writings of these two gentlemen about art I will try to draw out the differences in the idea of what abstract expressionism is and what it is supposed to be, compare and outline the similarities and the differences between the two critics.