Sculpture Review of Spartacus Breaking His Chains Essay

The Greeks’ increased confidence after defeating Persian invaders in 480 BCE is recognized in the artwork of that time. Sculptures evolved from rigid, less lifelike structures to more relaxed and humanlike works, typically evoking self-confidence. The work “Kritios” Boy exemplifies this shift. Assumed to be the work of the Greek sculptor Kritios, “Kritios” Boy was created at the close of the Persian wars. I love how realistic this piece and others like it appear in comparison to the Kouroi before it. These sculptures are visibly relaxed and confident, perfectly emulation the Greek attitude of that era. The way the statue’s weight appears to be shifted onto one leg is the most significant factor in presenting the “Kritios” Boy as self-confident.

190 B.C., Louvre, Paris.” This magnificent marble sculpture is of the goddess Nike. “In Greek mythology, the goddess Nike was a messenger of the gods and, more generally, the personification of victory.” The extreme details in the formation of Nike’s body shows great motion and power. The dramatic layering of the robe show movement, like she is in mid flight. Even the careful design of the structure of the wings, looks like they are moving. The exquisite feather details extenuate the notion of movement. The body is clothed but transcendent because the female body is still shown. The fabric is clingy and forms to the body, by being see through. The naval and nipples of the breasts are clearly seen under the clothing, which makes the material appear to look light. The statue of Nike represents the ideal female body during the Greek Hellenistic time period. “Although male nudity was always acceptable in sculpture, the representation of female images evolved from fully clothed to sensually nude. In earlier statues, clinging folds of drapery united the figure in a swirling rhythm of movement.” This brilliantly explains the representation of Nike in the statue because of the expressive movement of the fabric she wears.

On the surface, there is much similarity between The Spear Bearer and the Metropolitan Kouros. Both works of art portray a human being, or to be more precise, the ideal human figure, which is the main topic of both sculptures. In the case of the Metropolitan Kouros, an aristocrat male is shown, unlike The Spear Bearer in which a male athlete is depicted. In both sculptures, one can notice that

The figure sculptures of Khafre Enthroned and Kritios Boy exhibit a start and end point in an evolution of artistic technique. Although a single male figure is the subject of both works, canon clearly develops from Khafre Enthroned to Kritios Boy. Both works express a desire for perfection with the use of contrasting ideals. Egyptian artists prized completeness and timeless to achieve a god-like representation. Later, artistic form advances as Greeks sought naturalism and

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.

The sculpture portrays the God of Harvest, Dionysus, with his loyal satyr follower, Pan. A considerable amount of detail when into the carving of Dionysus; the multiple grapevines in his hair, his ceremonial staff Thyrsus, the goatskins and the cup of wine he’s holding are all symbols of Dionysus. The composition is very asymmetrical, and creates a contrapposto arrangement, which is distinctly Grecian (Gardner). It was carved out of beautiful fine marble, which also had another purpose in the way of making this piece of art last for many years. Along with the tree trunk between the two men providing support at the base, and the elongated arms providing more structural stability. The God’s head is even reinforced by his hair to make sure the head doesn’t break off. This sculpture is visually and aesthetically pleasing, but doesn’t serve a useful function, like textiles or furniture. Therefore, it is considered a figurative piece of art, which art that is very clearly modeled after real object or person(s), and is therefore representational

The statue of Dionysus is influenced by Greek classical styles because it has a contrapposto pose with the right arm and right leg stiff and the

This Etruscan- Roman piece of art is detailed all around, but also ideal as depictions look influential throughout the generations from the living patrician man holding the lifeless portrait busts of the two very distinct ancestors. The surface of the marble used to carve the male figure, and the portrait heads is very smooth and pale in colour, as the natural agent simulates’ realistic complexion through the veins present within the marble creating a three- dimensional illusion of meticulous naturalistic rendition of the human anatomy engraved with relief detail all around. The function of the portrait sculpture was to have a permanent documentation motivated by the realistic commemoration of one’s ancestors in a religious and ritualistic funeral use of death masks, that would have been cast from the face of the deceased. This became an obvious style of presenting recognizable prestige that conveyed the significance of

Ancient sculptures bring on endless philosophical arguments regarding what is an appropriate form of perfection, defined as a fit body guided by a keen mind. This paper will approach a visual essence of the sculpture of The Lansdowne Athlete, by Lysippos, Rome 340-330 B.C. marble after a bronze original, that I viewed at the LACMA. This sculpture is located in the left wing of Greek exhibition Building, 3rd floor. I selected this sculpture as an example of an idealized body. Therefore, I will be explaining the historical background of the sculpture and address why I think it would make a good addition to our text. I will provide an analogy with other sculpture of idealized body from our textbook chapter 12 on “Mind and Body” mainly. I will impart more information about the essence of idealized human form as well as cultural ideals during this time period in Greece.

A bronze sculpture consisting of just six rectangular shapes and a semi-rectangular base, this piece is very simple, and its minimalistic structure is similar to that of Malevich’s Supremacist Composition: Airplane Flying. From a certain angle, the sculpture resembles a figure stumbling and falling over the base, depicting some sort of motion. In this sense, it is similar to Boccioni’s Unique Forms of Continuity in Space, which sought to use air currents to symbolize a moving figure. The simplistic yet abstract nature of Shapiro’s work makes it feel right as home in the Modernist Revolution, despite the fact that Shapiro’s sculpture was made in 1991, more than 70 years after the Modernist Revolution occurred. In addition, Untitled is unlike any other “figure” sculpture we have studied thus far. Just about every major sculpture we have covered resembles some form of a human-like body, whether they be an actual human or a divine figure. Even Unique Forms of Continuity in Space possesses what appear to be legs, a head and a torso. The odd and minimalistic composition of Untitled means that is possesses no definite form resembling a human and could very well be meant to resemble something completely unrelated to human, quite possibly an inanimate object or even something that was not meant to be resembled. It is the only work of its kind present at the sculpture garden, and as such, it carries far more mystery than any other work

The Statue of Asklepios is a classic Greek sculpture that portrays a person of the most perfect and athletic form. The piece is of a man standing beautifully while draped in a toga. The toga is draped over his left shoulder and cuts across to the right side of his body near his lower abdomen and then continues to cover his legs until his ankle. The toga also is draped over the pieces entire back. The piece is missing his head, his left arm and both his right foot and almost its entire right arm. The piece has a smooth, but not glossy, exterior in all of the areas except for the parts that have been broken off. Asklepios is portrayed as an incredible fit and beautiful being. The abdomen is extremely muscular and shows off the miraculous fitness of the model. The toga has many wrinkles, creating a lot of shadow and darks and lights. It also is wrapped in a way that is both loose and tight in different areas of the sculpture. It is tied right next to the left pectoral and the left armpit. This piece emphasizes the muscular body of this man while at the same time portraying him standing in such a nonchalant way through the curvature and relaxed look of the figure. And unlike the Torso of a God, this piece clearly shows movement through the shape of the body and the folds of the toga because

This sculpture is located now in the ¨Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia¨ in Rome. The funerary architecture and focused on the commemoration of the deceased and of his race, not holding to the afterlife, to the Etruscans, after the dreaded death, was a state of pain and despair. The tombs reproduce the structure of the houses, where already the characteristic distribution of the Latins, with differentiation of atrium, or central space tablinum or lead agency, and stays arranged around them is

The body of the statue is supported by the left leg while the right leg is bent, in a relaxing state, his head is slightly turned to the right and tilted. It also represents ideal heroic male nude. The Kritios Boy is much smaller compared to the Kouros. It is more relaxed and lifelike figure where the Kouros is a stiff figure. He has soft rounded body form, broad facial features, and calm expression. This work doesn’t include archaic smile, but the significant characteristic of the work is contrapposto, which means that the weight of the statue is concentrated and balanced on one side, there is a “S” shaped curve in his back or spin causing slight shift in hips and subtle drop of one shoulder. It represents more comfortable and realistic pose. So, the use of contrapposto makes the work

Polykleitos' sculpture of Diadoumenos similarly relates to some of the most famous sculptors, like Praxitiles' statue of Hermes & Dionysos, in that they both display contrapposto, use struts for support and to make sure that none of the parts of the sculpture that they are balancing and supporting, dont fall off, since marble is very heavy and can easily break apart in bad weather or with physical contact.

Interestingly, instead of four, only three sides of the Sarcophagus are filled with images. The long section illustrates two Greek heroes, presumably Herakles and Iolaos, battling evil centaurs. The two other sections show a centaur attacking a lioness and the other, the representation of peace in this work, two centaurs getting along. Herakles and Iolaos are highlighted by the artist’s careful attention to make them protrude the greatest, accentuating their impact and overall importance in this sculpture. Every powerful muscle in their bodies is portrayed and given detail in three dimensions. The three-dimensions not only bring these characters closer to reality but also heighten the heroic nature, masculinity, and belligerent attitude of the Greek heroes. Instead of using basic geometric shapes to create works of art, the sculptor chooses to increase the detail in the Sarcophagus by giving everything in the sculpture individual characteristics and traits. They are presented as being stressed