The Three Graces

Greek culture is the source from which many of the characteristic elements of Western culture derive. Their explorations and innovations in art have both fascinated and inspired other civilizations for centuries. For this assignment I chose two Greek sculptures viewed at the Getty Museum. The first is Kouros circa 530 B.C. made of Dolomitic marble from Thasos and is approximately 200 cm (80 in) in height. The second is Cult Statue of a Goddess, (most likely Aphrodite) South Italy, 425 - 400 B.C. made of Limestone and marble. It stands at a height of 220 cm (86 5/8 in). There is some dispute to the authenticity of the Getty Kouros

This statue seems to have been treated poorly and not with much care. It can be seen that it went through a lot causing such damage. However, because of its massive size, it was able to survive and still be in somewhat good condition. The body around the torso is relatively smooth and in tact with minor scratches. Her body itself was not as damaged but mostly around the edges of the statue were broken off. The texture seems to be of hard, rough limestone but it was smoothed out when being carved.

I can only tell by body language that they want to spread heroism between men and women. The use of marble links the sculpture to the glow and smoothness of the male skin. In this sculpture, it appears to be characterized by imagery aimed at the sense of the marble statue. The standing sculpture appears to be relaxed, while the median line makes an angle. While standing upright, the figure’s feet are place in a certain way that brings a shifting effect or movement and a stable poise.

The study of Greek sculpture is a complex relationship of Roman sculpture. And a large number of Roman sculpture, especially in the stone, survives more or less intact, it is often damaged or piecemeal; life-size bronze statues are much more rare, because as most have been recycled for their metal. The

Marble is what the statues are made of, as the hard material was in relative abundance in the Mediterranean area even in ancient times. Bits of paints on the Youth are still present as this would be completely polychromed with pigments to add to the lifelikeness of the statue. Not stated but the Good Shepherd looks like it had color at one point but wore off from years of being weathered. With the texture of the overall statue, the Bebenburg Youth had sheen and a smoothed appearance from that of the muscles and careful sanding down to idealism. The Shepherd has a rougher feel as maybe the artist wanted not to make it like Christ wore fine linen but a rough material like a poor shepherd would actually wear. At this point in early Christian art, Christ is very accessible to the masses as a poor youthful shepherd as most people could identify with shepherds and livestock as both were commonplaces in their simple lives.

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.

The Grace That Keeps This World is a novel about a man named Gary Hazen who lives with his wife and two sons in the Adirondack Mountains of New York in a close-knit community. He depends on hunting and working outdoors as a means of survival to take care of his family. He has two sons whose names are Gary David, who is the oldest, and Kevin, who is the youngest. His dream is that his two young sons will follow in his footsteps, becoming avid hunters who work and live off of the land. Gary Hazen’s original dream for his two young sons does not fully become realized. Kevin goes away to college and is unsure of where his future will take him but begins to say he no longer wants to hunt because his girlfriend does not like it which causes

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

The fact that the sculpture is a bronze also impacts the meaning of the piece. Not only does the medium help make the piece more structurally stable and prevented it from breaking, but it also creates a more rigid and

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

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.

It is a very large piece made from Limestone. Limestone is a sedimentary rock which means it is formed by the accumulation of sediments, and it is very hard. The statue itself is not very detailed and is pretty simplistic. It is a statue of a human body. The statue is 71 in. (180.4 cm) which is

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.

In contrast to the noble figure of Augustus, the piece titled “The Good Shepard” (300-350 AD. Marble. Height: 39 inches) which resides as a wall painting in the Catacomb of Calixtus, is an early symbolic representation of Christ as a Shepard (Mueso, Rome Web 2014). Symbolic images like these were common for the period of Early Christian art. It compares nicley to the Greco-Roman sculpture ( 3rd Century b.c.e) piece of the same name. A similar depiction can also be found at Dura Europas(Ceiling piece, fresco painting-seen in image below), in an ancient Christian meeting house (Klein Fred S. pg 210). Christ the Good Shepherd of the Twenty-third Psalm was often depicted as a beardless youth derived from the pagan god Apollo and with other ties to many Mediterranean mythologies. It is significant to note that the style of this painting with its loose impressionistic style and suggestion of a landscape echoes a category of ancient painting called sacral-idyllic landscapes.

Saying Grace is a still life painting by French painter Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardi and it was finished in the year 1740. The painting portraits the modesty of everyday scenery during 1700’s in Paris, France. The portrait shows a humble, middle-class interior scene, were a mother and her two young children are gathered around the table for a meal. While the mother arranges the table, the two children are preparing themselves to say grace by lowering their eyes and heads. Holding a silver spatula in her right hand, the mother with kind looking eyes, checks her younger child saying her prayer; while holding one of the child’s plate on her other hand.