Early African Art

The Nok heads and sculptures of Nigeria are made hallow, life-sized terra-cotta figures with a coiling technique commonly used to make pottery vessels (Thames & Hudson, 2015, pg.451). Nok heads were made with clay and although clay is very durable it is also breakable. However, very few sculpture have been found undamaged. The head of the figures was larger than the bodies because the artists wanted to emphasize the association between the head with knowledge and identity. The Nok head below is from Rafin Kura, sculpted in c. 500 BCE-200 CE. Like many Nok heads, this sculpture has a unique hairstyle, with three buns on top. It also has triangular- shaped eyes with holes in the pupils, nostrils, mouth, and

On October 9, 2015 I went to the Smithsonian, National Museum of African Art along with attending the Million Man March down in Washington D.C. The experiences were wonderful and I was very excited to be at both events. While at the museum I took two tours one at 10 am that was led by a woman named Nkechi Obi. She talked about docent African Arts. The next one was shortly after at11 am that was led by a teen ambassador named Nicholas Stewart, who was very intelligent. He talked about numerous pieces throughout the museum that had some significance to younger minds so I found that very helpful. After the tour I spent some time down at the mall in DC in which faced the Capitol. This was the Million Man March that was a very popular event that brought out many people. I would describe both events as lectures that were powerful and time put to good use.

African Americans always had a great influence in the United States throughout time from the beginning of slavery. African Americans, since the start of slavery, always expressed themselves artistically, where it was through music or art. From making patchwork quilts, slaves used their artistic expression to help conduct the Underground Railroad and escape slavery. To be defined as “illiterate savages” African Americas proved many wrong with their exceptional skills presented in many different styles of artwork. From slavery throughout the 19th century, there were a great number of African Americans whom contributed to the United States through artistic expression, with creating artwork that would either be judged or discredited. For example, Robert S. Duncanson, Edward M. Bannister, Mary Edmonia Lewis, and Henry Ossawa Tanner were all 19th century African American artists who each faced their own individual challenges to achieve acclaim as artists.

The work presented is St. Lucy Altarpiece, painted by Domenico Veneziano. It was created in Florence ca. 1445-47 A.D. This composition of tempera on a roughly 6 x 7 foot wood panel displays a horizontal scene of Madonna and Child with attending saints and bishops. Designed as an altarpiece, with the intentions of its being displayed before the public, St. Lucy Altarpiece stresses the importance of it’s main characters; Madonna and Child. Veneziano stresses his motives of bringing attention towards Madonna and Child by using physical light and darkness, space, perspective, and even the subjects within the painting to communicate their importance.

Prior to Raphael’s The Alba Madonna, there had been numerous paintings of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus. What was unique about this one was the fact that a very young John the Baptist was included. In his painting, Raphael has John the Baptist holding a cross and the Baby Jesus grasping it. All three subjects in the painting are gazing at the cross. Church teachings state that Jesus had an understanding of his fate at a very young age. This painting signifies that understanding. Baby Jesus is accepting his future fate of suffering and dying on the cross. His mother Mary and cousin John are also accepting of his fate. Raphael has captured

The overprotected nature of the children's life is revealed in several visual elements in the painting. First, and most obvious, the mother leans over the children as she puts them to bed. The father also stands close, looking down at them, with a fond smile on his face. While it is clear that they love their children, the parents' physical orientation towards their children can be said to hover. Another interesting element in this regard is that the father accompanies the process of putting the children to bed. He stands next to his wife as she works with the children. He does not help, but gives the impression that his

They are all African American Artist, although they are extremely similar to each other. Each one of them trying to indicate art is art is nothing to do with black and white people. Art is for represented you to the world. It’s all about creating something new to the world. As an African American they created different art from their own culture and won religion. They are very similar to each other because they are all artists of their own thinking such as they use their own idea to create art. The interesting part is that Artist thinks about the American history first and creates a photo or art or video as well. Each one of them is famous African American artist who shared a history, culture, the experience and struggles of their art work.

It as well is in an ellipses shape where it is in an oval shape filling most of the canvas. This piece has a very dark atmosphere, as the only highlighted images are that of Christ and and the adulteress. There are people surrounding them all dressed in greys and greens. Jesus is dressed in an ivory which is a color in which people of importance often wore. The adultress life-drained body is looking down towards her exposed breasts as she comes to understand her fate. This painting conveys the emotion of a bible story about Jesus forgiving an adulteress. The emotions run very high as the individual 's facial expressions are locked in surprise and anger. Anger towards the woman and utter shock as to Jesus forgiveness and compassionate heart towards her. Showing Christ bending down to write in the sand as the pharisees behind him are appalled at what he has to say. “He who does not sin may throw the first stone” John 8:7. This reflects reaction to Mannerism, but also the social turmoil of the time. According to the Council of Trent and the Catholic church artworks should be a clear, intelligible subject realistically interpreted in order to stimulate piety. This was part of the reason that the artwork turned towards naturalism, becoming emotionally engaging and intense.

The name the piece I performed my article review on is called the Male Nok Head which is from the village of Nok, located in Kaduna State, Nigeria. The artist is unknown and it dates back to circa 550-50 B.C.E. The materials used for the construction of life-sized statue is Terracotta which is a baked clay.

Throughout history, people have used paintings and art as a tool to express their religious beliefs and values. Illustrations depicting the Virgin Mary and child, often referred to as Madonna and Child, are one of the most recurring images in Christian and European Art through the ages. Though these paintings and sculptures may have similarities in their iconography and style each work of art varies based on the different artists’ and time periods. Two paintings that portray these features currently reside in the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. The first, Virgin and Child by Rogier van der Wyden, was originally painted after 1454. In the painting, the Virgin Mary is holding Christ against her shoulder as he twists around to face toward the viewers. The second painting is Virgin and Child with a Donor, painted by Antoniazzo Romano and originally painted c. 1480. In this painting, Virgin Mary is supporting Christ who seems to be standing and includes a figure of a man with his hands crossed in prayer. While both paintings depict the mother and child, there are both similarities and differences in style and portrayal. In this paper, I will thoroughly examine these traits, as well as address the similarities and differences associated with the two paintings. This analysis will be done by using information gained from reading Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, in class lectures from ARTH 1381 Art and Society Renaissance to Modern and ARTH 1300 Ways of Seeing Art, and close visual

This sculpture is of a women breast feeding her child. The face of the two people is elongated, as well as the breasts of the mother. This is common to all African Art because they wanted representation of what is being expressed. In this particular sculpture, a supernatural power is being called upon. The power has been asked to protect the mother and child, and to

One notable aspect of the Ancient African civilization was its magnificent art; reflecting the importance Africans placed on storytelling, the natural world, and spirits/ancestors. The Africans used art as a way to express life and culture within their generations. They believed there was "more than a mere representation of something concrete," and that "an artistic depiction of something made it an actual fact" (Bogucki). So unlike most cultures who passed on history by word of mouth, the Africans also used forms of art to create a better picture of history.

The little that is known of the history of the African people comes from the stories that the Africans pass down from one generation to another. These stories have been changed or confirmed by the studies of archaeologists, who have found evidence doing so. The biggest problem for archaeologists is that most of the artwork and other remnants of the African culture has been destroyed over the years due to natural elements (Jirousek, para.1). This is because they were made of organic materials, which decompose easily in the environmental conditions of Africa (Jirousek, para.1). Even though there is not many examples of historical African Art archaeologists

Stylistic concern is not the only argument that objects the painting’s attribution to Raphael, but also the inferior quality in the rendition of Mary and Christ. Observations of Beck suggest that Mary’s hair looks confusing and unsolved , while the underdrawing revealed by IR investigation shows a clearer representation of the braids that possibly the painter-in-question became more “exclusive on this own during the painting stage that he dropped the refinement of her hair” stemming from mimicking Raphael’s painting when drafting. Furthermore, the current depiction conveys a sense of obfuscation in posing of Mary’s right thigh compared to Small Cowper Madonna (fig. 2) or the Bridgewater Madonna (fig.4), with statically drawn Infant balancing difficultly on the invisible leg of Mary . It is inexplicable that the engravings (fig. 6 and 7) after the painting look more convincing that they have complemented the unnaturalness of the original.

During the mid 19th century up until the Great War of 1914, European countries began to heavily colonize and come into contact with African nations. This was called "new imperialism". During this contact, European culture was influenced by Africa. The influence of the African people can be seen in the European society of the time. In the 19th and 20th centuries, modern artists embraced African art for its lack of pretension or formal qualities.