Grave stele of a little girl Stephanie Sjaastad Nancy Catandella HWA 160L 112 18 November 2013 Ancient Greek art is something to be admired; the accuracy of the figures, compared to Egyptian art is commendable. The art works show great depths of emotion and detail. The “Grave stele of a little girl” is a beautiful relief of what appears to be a small child holding two birds. The forearm resembles a young child’s arm because it seems that the “baby fat” is still present, but it is strange that the face has less-childish features. The figure is in strict profile, which possibly suggests a Greek sculptor, in addition to the intricate detail and the contrapposto. Egyptian sculptors did not have …show more content…
One of the doves is just resting on her left hand, clinging to her fingers, but the other dove is held very close to her chest and face as if 1. "Grave stele of a little girl [Greek]" (27.45) In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. she is saying farewell. Although the bird on her left hand is headless, it appears that the head would have also been facing the girl. Children in Ancient Greek grave reliefs are typically depicted with their pets, so most likely, this girl was very fond of her two doves.1 Ancient Greeks typically marked their graves with steles while serving as a monument for the deceased; the steles rarely revealed the deceased age in the engraving.2 A stele is defined as “a carved stone block, slab, or pillar, generally decorated with relief sculpture,” that ancient Egyptians, Persians, and Greeks used for grave and site markers, as memorials and monuments.3 The deceased were typically depicted through these reliefs; in relation to their character and social position.4 The young girl appears to be wearing a peplos—a full-length robe worn by women in Ancient Greece—that is clasped over the shoulders.5 The material seems to be very thin; the smooth texture of the cloth defines both of her legs. Also the fabric is unsewn near her waist, which shows the drapery and the folds that it forms
Similar to most Egyptian art, the figures in the stele are drawn with a twisted perspective – the frontal view of their faces and the profile view of their bodies. This is also seen in the relief of “King Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions.” This twisted perspective was common in most Ancient Egyptian art.
Looking at the Stele of Iku and Mer-imat causes some questions to arise. Which class did the man and woman on the stele fall in? Was it made during the time of the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, or New Kingdom? Did the two love each other? We can answer or infer the answers to the questions by finding out more about the work. The Old Kingdom lasted from about 2686-2055 BCE and this piece was made by about 2100 BCE, which explains why the polychrome on the limestone has faded so much and the edges are chipped and damaged very badly. The man and the woman were probably in the upper class, seeing as they could afford to have a funerary stele made of them and they are painted wearing expensive outfits. As for whether or not the two were in love, it is obvious that they cared for each other deeply. The woman, Mer-imat, outstretches her arm and wraps it around his upper body, placing it on his shoulder. She is facing in his direction, ready to follow him wherever he may venture. Although he is not caressing her or even looking at her, he wanted her to be shown in the stele with him. In fact, it was very common for Egyptian men to have their arms to their sides, balling their hands in to fists to hold pegs. He is just showing his power, and the whole work is very similar to the statue of King Menkaure and his Queen.
This paper will focus on the Statue of Dionysos leaning on a female figure. Also known as the Hope Dionysos. The statue is displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art and is located on the first floor Roman and Greek art chamber. Upon entering this sector, you will notice a grand statue that catches your eyes and captivates you as it welcomes you in gracefully. The exhibition is set up in the back center of the room, and is noticeable due to the largeness in scale and the enigmatic yet calming disposition the statue portrays. My first impression of the sculpture was how detailed and realistic the statue is. Since the statue was so defined you would be able to identify what he was wearing and how his body was shaped to how long his hair was during this time period. I was profoundly intrigued by how peaceful the statue of Dionysos embodied and found myself coming back to it and looking in awe. In curiosity, I would choose this statue for my assignment because I wanted to learn more about the history of the Hope Dionysos. In this essay I will be describing my formal analysis of the artwork, the subject matter behind it, the artist and the historical content of the statue of Dionysos.
One of the women made the comment that Mrs. Wright used to be pretty and happy, when she was Minnie Foster not Minnie Wright. This is just the beginning of realizing that she was just pushed to far into depression and couldn't live up to John Wright's expectations anymore. The Wrights had no children and Mrs. Wright was alone in the house all day long. The women perceive John Wright to be a controlling husband who in fact probably wouldn't have children and this may have upset Mrs. Wright. They eventually find vacant bird cage and ponder upon what happened to the bird, realizing Mrs. Wright was lonely they figured she loved the bird and it kept her company. The women make reference to the fact that Mrs. Wright was kind of like a bird herself, and that she changed so much since she married John Wright. They begin looking for stuff to bring her and they find the bird dead and they realize someone had wrung its neck. This is when they realize Mrs. Wright was in fact pushed to far, John Wright had wrung her bird's neck and in return Minnie Wright wrung his.
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.
In the story the father didn’t understand his daughter which made their relationship rocky. In the text it says ‘‘...watching him get out of the truck and walk toward me, noticing that there was no smile on his face but still feeling my body move toward him, my arms opening for an embrace, something rising in my throat. My father stopped and held out his right hand.’’ This quote shows that the father had a hard time showing his emotions to his daughter. In the end of the story they bonded over a bird and the father began to understand his daughter.
Both Etruscan and Roman tomb sculpture function to memorialize the departed allowing them to move on from the world of the living and seeks to comfort those who have lost the ones they love. The two societies have differing practices in regards to death and therefore sculptures concerning the subject are somewhat different with a few identifiable similarities. While both societies seek to comfort the living and commemorate the dead this is achieved through different approaches. The Etruscan Sarcophagus with reclining couple from Cerveteri, Italy and the Mummy of Artemidorus from Roman Egypt are two examples of contrasting representations of the dead. When analyzing tomb sculpture one of the main questions is whether the work adapts a retrospective approach (presentation of the deceased as they were in life) or a prospective one (the viewpoint of looking forward to life beyond the grave). While the Etruscan sarcophagus gives a more retrospective memorialization through the depiction of the couple in a state of regularity the Roman Mummy of Artemidorus presents a more prospective approach concerning the deceased through the emphasis of funerary practices.
The bird is also seen in Molly’s flashback whilst at the Moore River Settlement, the use of a close up of her face in bed fading to an undershot of the eagle in the sky, brought back memories and is followed by a close up of Molly and Maude giving her the determination to escape and find their way home. Again, when the girls are struggling on their long journey home and they collapse, Noyce uses an extreme close up shot of Molly’s eyes as she hears the sound of the eagle, her eyes slowly open and then the film uses a low angle shot of the eagle flying above the girls in the sky. The audience senses their vulnerability and the challenge that lies ahead. This is followed by a high angle shot of Molly standing and looking at the eagle providing her with the inner strength to continue the journey home. As they continue, there is an aerial shot of trees, the sound of an eagle, an example of diegetic sound and the audience has a sense that the bird is guiding the girls home.
This paper is a formal analysis of the Marble grave stele with a family group relief sculpture. It is a pentelic marble style relief standing at 171.1cm tall carved by a master. It is from the Late Classical period of Greek, Attic which was completed around ca.360 B.C. . I chose to analyze this piece as apposed to the others because I’m mainly attracted to art and sculptures from the Greek era. The overall color used in this relief is ivory with a few cracks and pieces broken off. There is some discoloration which causes the color to come off as slightly light brown for most of the relief. The sculpture appears larger compared to the other sculptures in the art room. It represents a family which includes a man, his wife, and their
The old woman, when she says of the bird “I don’t know…in your hands,” means that the fate of the bird is inevitably going to be decided by the children. She repeats the phrase, “it is in your hands,” being as the bird symbolizes language, to emphasize that the use of language can be once again corrupted or pure, literally the bird’s fate. This phrase has become a metaphor
When Phoenix had the encounter with the hunter, she managed to spot a nickel that fell out of his pocket. She devised a plan to get that nickel. As soon as that nickel hit the bottom of her pocket, a bird flew by. Phoenix took this as a sign that God was watching her.
When examining the statue, there is an old woman bent and weary. Her posture helps clue us in, with her age and the state of her health. The figure is dressed in cloth that drapes off her body as she carries a basket that is filled with what we may think are offerings. On her head, there are vines that create a band around the top of her head used to signify the festival that was going on during that time. The specific detail that is seen on this statue persuades us to want to know the story of this woman. Doing so, the process involves lots of research about the time and art. During the hellenistic period, artists begin to introduce more inner beauty than physical beauty. There is an opportunity to learn more about the structure itself, then settle for what is given and seen.
“Well, for instance, when I left her to-day, she put her arms around me and felt my shoulder blades, to see if my wings were strong, she said. `The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering
First, it symbolizes her connection to God and her desire to please Him. She represents herself and her family as birds because they were also creations of God; however, they are not human, therefore they do not sin. The bird family also symbolizes freedom. As her young grow up and spread their wings, they leave the nest to fly on their own. This represents one of the facts of life; children grow up and leave their parents’ homes to find their own way to make it in the world.
I will see what the artworks mean to me, and I will make my own interpretations as to why their art is this way. Moreover, I expect look at many of their varying art forms and see how the use of animals differs between them. This is because I believe different kinds of art are able to impact people in different ways, and have an implication that is unlike the other. I plan to analyze the assorted characteristics and traits of the various art forms the ancient Egyptians practiced to see similarities and differences, and consider in what way this influences the meaning of the works.