Brittany LeBlanc
Professor Holliday
Art History 111A
15 November 2010
Gravestone of a Woman with Her Attendant The Gravestone of a Woman with her attendant is a sculpture created by an unknown artist and is now on display at the Getty Villa in Malibu, California. The sculpture is of a woman seated in a cushioned armchair, reaching out to lightly touch the top of a box or chest held by her attendant. We can tell from the sculpture that the women is of a higher class because of how her hair is done, the significant amount of jewelry, and the decorated throne that she lounges in. This sculpture is an extremely detailed Grecian gravestone made from a thick slab of colorless marble around 100 B.C. The woman wears a robe that is very
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With the sculpture straight ahead, the audience sees a profile view of the scene; however, the artist created the sculpture with enough space and depth to be able to view the front of the woman’s face from a side angle. The artist created the seated woman with much detail; her nose, chin, slightly opened mouth, pronounced brow line and inset eyes show this. She reaches for the chest with her right arm in a very delicate manner as her left arm lays on the throne for support. The woman’s female servant is standing in front, below her, holding an opened box or a chest. The box the servant holds is not defined, but we can assume that is some sort of a chest holding valuables to the seated woman, presumably something the woman would be buried with. The attendant is significantly smaller than the seated woman, which can suggest that the servant is of much less importance or is younger than the high-class woman. The servant wears a robe somewhat alike to the seated woman, but with less detail and decoration. The robe the attendant wears seems like there is less fabric draping her body below the midriff and there is also no fabric wrapped around her forearm like the woman on the thrown. Another difference between the two women is the missing shoes on the servant, which also symbolizes less importance. We can see this from her exposed he poking out from underneath the draping robe. The servant’s hair is also messy and not held back like the woman
I think about how the world had betrayed this women. They made this woman plump and empty, she does not even have a face. This statue is nude showing everything to the naked eye, she does not have a desirable body. This sculpture shows how much a woman was respected back in the day, which was very little.
My eyes are then shifted towards the woman on the right side of the relief. The woman seems to be his wife and is shown standing extremely close to him. Since the chair is backless, I think her standing so close behind him depicts her unity with him. It seems as though she is his support and is there to follow him. She is right up against his back with her right hand up by her chest and his head. The wife and child’s attire displays a robe draped over the entire body leaving only her arms exposed although the wife has sleeves draping all the way down behind her forearm. The robe drapes over the wife’s head like a shawl or veil covering the back half of her
The variety of elements of art and principles of design both establish the center figure as the focus of attention. Both principles and elements guide the audience’s attention towards the main center figure. The assortment of lines, colors, and shapes determine the movement and proportion of this piece, putting emphasis on the center women
Standing in front of this sculpture, the viewer can feel the wind whipping around them and the sea spraying you in the face. The energy and motion add to the dramatic effect that immediately draws the viewer in. This dramatic effect is created by the lines of the figure. Nike’s elongated wings catch your eye and create a lengthy transverse line which adds to the drama. The drapery that clothes the figure has the same
Among the many artworks I have seen, I decided to discuss about the “Sarcophagus Depicting a Battle between Soldiers and Amazons (Warrior Women)” from the Roman civilization. It was built sometime in between 140 A.D. to 170 A.D and is approximately forty and a half inches in length, ninety-one and a half inches in width, and fifty and a half inches tall in height (“Roman Sarcophagus”). This masterpiece appealed to me because of the unique approach that has been designed to honor the deceased. Many people are familiar with the formatting and inscriptions of a gravestone because it is usually engraved with an individual’s full name, birth date, and death date. During the Roman Empire, a sarcophagus, which is a coffin, was widely used to show decorative themes that includes: battle scenes, hunting scenes, weddings, or other memorable episodes from the life of the deceased individual. The most luxurious ones were made from marble surrounded by symbolic sculptures, figures and inscriptions on all four sides (“Sarcophagus”). Another feature that captured my attention was the large quantity of details used to bring out a lifelike aspect of the deceased individual’s favorable moments in their life. In this artwork, this sarcophagus was dedicated to a Roman commander. The exterior of the sarcophagus has been well-decorated and carved with exquisite details depicting a battle scene
This sculpture is comprised of marble, and due to its large size it was easier for me to develop an impression about the piece because I can focus on specific parts in more detail. To understand the piece, a very visual and detailed perspective is needed. Judging by the way the thighs are represented, it appears as though she is striking a contrapposto pose, which makes her appear static. She has most of her weight shifted on her left leg, but not all of it The focal point of this piece I believe is her robe. It skillfully falls down her left side, while leaving other parts exposed, drawing the main attention of this piece. Few different types of shapes are displayed, except the shape of her legs and the form of the robe. The physical texture was smooth throughout the entire piece, partly due to the material it is made of. There is only this one texture, as her robe and body parts all feel the same.
One of the unique parts of the ‘Seated Woman’ painting is the style that is presented by Picasso. Made mainstream in the art world by Picasso and fellow artist Georges Braque, cubism is the
The piece of work chosen was “A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby” created by Kara Walker. The subject of the work is a gigantic woman resting in the same form at the Sphinx with several little brown children placed thoughtfully throughout the room. Walking around the display is a good way to interact with the piece. Unless the artist has declared otherwise, the piece should not be played on. The first thing that comes to eye is the gigantic white subject in the middle of the space. One might immediately assume it’s a downsized version of the sphinx from a distance, but getting closer they soon realize that the sphinx like subject is actually a woman. More distinctively, a black woman based on the features. The second thing that comes to
Her face is turned toward the viewer. The natural environment of the woman has been erased. Instead she is floating on a large golden canvas. There are no other objects or decoration in the work.
The marble used to create the sculpture brings out the fine quality of such material. It also adds elegance and sensuous grace to the whole sculpture. The use of marble links the sculpture to the radiance and softness of the female skin. The hips of the
The body of the woman has mane and the hair fall over accentuated breast feature on the body. The mane is o presenting both a feel of nobility and fright on the face of a lioness, which has a skull of bone and stylized whiskers on the face . The head is raised in a form of adoration with the solar disk and cobra emphasizing the cosmic aspects of the divinity of the goddess . The face is modeled with high precision on which the eyes are small and eyelids that have been painted as it were a collar or the robe’s edge. The statue is in a seated position on a block with the fingers that have been shaped significantly with a focus on the distinctive feature of anatomy that the artist sought to add with much delicacy, resting on her legs. The goddess’s legs have inscriptions that are added to the surface of the throne. She stands as a towering figure with soft feline features that invoke power and fear especially with the nature of her eyes in the statue. Her elegance calls attention to her presenting a valid reason why she was both feared and
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 artist depicted the use of space well in relationship to the size and placement of body parts. Like Khafra, he is displayed in a stiff, upright, and frontal position (Davies 59). The Seated Scribe gives the impression as if he might look down at any moment to begin writing. His realistic and less than youthful appearance is depicted partly by a slight paunchy belly as well as somewhat loose skin at his ribs and slightly sagging breasts (Davies 59). The facial expression looks to be of a man at peace or perhaps in deep thought. The carver further imposed a human appearance with the addition of paint; skin tone for the body, tan for the clothing, and darker colors for the hair and eyes. The figure looks as if it is capable of movement. For example, the heavily detailed face and right hand almost seem to be momentarily paused from writing. His demeanor seems approachable to others around him. A significant amount of time was spent on the individualized
This sculpture has been arranged geometrically using cylinders, cones, hemispheres and other appendages. The shapes are arranged up and down getting bigger and smaller in some areas this is exhibited on the torso as her waist is significantly smaller than her upper body. The use of colours were arranged to fade in
The subject of the artwork is Nefertiti, who was the wife of Akhenaten. In addition to being a wife, Nefertiti was also a queen of Egypt. Nefertiti is posed in a very graceful stance. She looks very calm and put together. Due to the curvature of the very elongated neck, the Bust of Nefertiti is poised into a relaxed pose, while maintaining her eternal beauty at the same time. These features are also noticeable when moving the focus towards the eyes, which are slightly closed enough to see her eyelids in addition to her actual eyes. Her eyes are composed into a very natural state; they aren’t widened as if they are portraying a specific facial expression. Her entire face has a peaceful and very naturalistic look. Although often times portraits in Egypt were made to be exaggerated and never depicted what the person actually looked like, this piece