Museum Paper

Throughout the history of art, the human body and figure has captivated both artisans and their audiences. This can be said especially of the Greeks and their sculptures. Even from the earliest periods, Greeks motivation for the search of the ideal human body can be seen through the sculpture Metropolitan Kouros (c 120-50 BCE), created in the Archaic period and said to be found in Attica, Ancient Greece (Richter 1931, p. 220). However, it is not until High Classical period that they truly achieve their goal with Polykleitos’ The Spear Bearer (c. 120-50 BCE) or the Doryphoros (its Greek name). The sculpture, found in a Palestra in Pompeii, Italy is said to be the epitome of perfection during its period. Although there is exquisite rendering and beauty in both sculptures, there are also a vast number of differences that make each work unique.

Through further research, I have learned that this vase “depicts the heroes Achilles and Ajax playing a board game” (Two-Handled Jar with Achilles and Ajax).

The Harvester Vase was found in Hagia Triada on the island of Crete. This vase is from the Late Bronze Age, dating from 1550 to 1500 BC. The vase was originally made in three parts and was fitted together. The face is oval shaped and has a vessel on the top. The vase was carved on brownish steatite. The vase was originally glided with gold and hammered to paper-thin thickness. This piece is decorated with low-relief sculpture and shows a unique scene. The piece has pictorial designs. The composition is powerful, rhythmical, and lively.

The “Attic Black-Figure Column Krater” depicts Dionysos the Wine God surrounded by various Satyrs and Maenads. The Satyrs and Maenads appear to be performing some kind of dance ritual, with Dionysos standing center. Dionysos, holding a drinking appeared rather relaxed compared to the others in the scene, it almost appears as if he was smiling at the Satyrs and Maenads. Ultimately, the subject matter of the painting on the vase showcases a joyous ritual with Dionysus and his follower Satyrs and Maenads. The subject matter of this vase infers that the Athenians were a festive people that enjoyed dance and wine.

For this writing assignment, I was given the Attic Black-figure Lekythos. The vase told the story of Herakles and the boar. The Lekythos is a cylindrical vase. The base color of the vase is orange. The ink used turned black from when it was heated. The vase still contains most of the story; however, a lot of the vase is faded.

he Harvester’s Vase, a fascinating 3500 year old stone sculpture from the Aegean Bronze Age was a product of cultural interactions between the Minoans and the outside world. The vase is “unprecedented” in ancient art history due in part to the animated facial features and accurate human anatomy, thanks to the Minoans long history in making art and their mercantile economy. While Mycenaeans and Hellenic Greeks are more well-known and studied, Minoans played a huge in part in laying the foundations of Western art. Discovered in ruins of the Hagia Triada on the island of Crete. The Harvester’s vase was created around 1500 to 1450 BC, the vase is unique in that it is one of the few well preserved artifacts of the Minoan Kamares where they have

The first work I studied is the Terracotta Skyphos. It is a cup from early imperial time. It belongs to the Roman culture. It was made at Tarsus in Cilia. It is from Cyprus. The cup is made out of Terracotta, which is a clay-like substance. It is fired clay that can that is durable and strong. It can be molded into any shape. In Italian terracotta means “baked earth.” Making a terracotta sculpture is quick, simple, and cheap. This cup was lead glazed; the shape of the cup represents the Hellenistic period. It’s a fancy work, decorated with plants and flowers. The plants look like it is popping out. It resembles the repousse technique. The cup has a rough texture and the way the light hits it almost looks dark in some areas. On the display it

Our journey begins when the Amasis Painter starts painting at the end of the sixth century. The Amasis Painter paints on small and large vessels. He starts with attic black-figure vase-painting that was first produced in Corinth around 700 B.C. Attic black-figure vase-painting depicts animals and human silhouette figures in a naturalistic detail. Additionally, attic black-figure vases have vessel borders and edges that are decorated with floral, lotus, and palmette designs. The Amasis Painter includes these details to every vase and sometimes adds white to his paintings.

This art includes Mantiklos Apollo, it is one of the masterwork of that time. Mantiklos dedicated the bronze statuette to Apollo and it probably represents the god. The treatment of the body reveals the interest seventh-century BCE Greek artists had in representing human anatomy. Furthermore, there is Orientalizing amphora, it is two handed storage jar. It painted vases, animals such as bear, lions

This piece of art depicted the interaction between Dionysus and Pan in a form of sculpture. The sculpture was created from beautiful marble in A.D. 50 – 150. The work is three

The next sculpture is in the Pediment sculpture. The Pediment Sculpture is a triangular gable, forming a roof end slope, over two portico doorways. The sculpture is oin both the east and west in the Parthenon. Both of the sculptures are 3.45 meters high and 28.55 meters long. The east pediment depicts Athena’s birth, while the west depicts Poseidon and Athena arguing over who will rule Athens. Both gods are three meters tall. In the middle of the two gods quarreling was Athena’s tree, the olive tree. On the sides were chariots with rearing horses.

One of the finest French artists of the 19th century thought of by many is William Bouguereau. He was well known for his traditional

The purpose of this paper is to visit The Metropolitan Museum of Art and write a reaction paper about art works at the museum based on my impressions about them. To begin, I will start by giving you a little of background information about this interesting museum.

“In ancient times, the Greeks held one of their most important festivals, The Olympic Games, in honour of the King of their gods, Zeus” (“Statue of Zeus at Olympia” 1). These games were first held in 776 BC, and were held at the “shrine to Zeus located on the western coast of Greece in a region called Peloponnesus” (“Statue of Zeus at Olympia” 1). A Greek artist by the name of Phidias, was commissioned to create the statue (“The Statue of Zeus at Olympia”). He began the masterpiece around 450 BC, and spent the next eight years completing it, creating a work of art out of ivory and gold (“The Statue of Zeus at Olympia”). When creating the statue, “Phidias worked in stone and bronze, he was the first to employ ivory and gold to represent the human face and form. No material so closely resembles the tint and the texture of the flesh as ivory; no metal could better represent the clothing and the hair then enameled gold” (Banks Ch. 6). Phidias made the core of the statue out of wood, and overlaid plates of both ivory and gold that he was able to fit together in such a way that not even the joints were visible (Banks Ch. 6). The statue upon completion, was place upon a substructure that was three steps high (Banks Ch. 6). “Thirty-six tall granite columns surrounded it, and three parts of its interior were separated by similar columns” (Banks Ch. 6). Around 170

The Birth of Athena represents one of the most stunning births of Olympian deities, being immortalized on countless pottery objects. Athena’s status of goddess protector of Athens certainly provides an explanation for the numerous vases dedicated to her. The Yale amphora is not an exception. This Group E black-figure amphora is among the works of the greatest black-figure vase painter, Exekias, and its two panels vividly tell the story of Athena’s birth. While divine births are spectacular ipso facto, the birth of the goddess of wisdom is remarkable in that she emerged from the head of Zeus. Unlike Dionysus’s birth from the thigh of Zeus, which lead to the death of Semele, a mortal woman, Athena’s unusual birth came as a result of the swallowing of