For this assignment, we were required to visit The Getty Villa in Malibu and search for very specific types of art objects. When I first arrived, I was immediately asked if I had a reservation and what method of transportation I used to get there. Apparently the museum has very strict guidelines of not allowing pedestrians to walk in, therefore you are required to get there by car or public transportation and have valid proof of the bus fare. Next, we were required to wait and get escorted by museum employees up to the hillside museum. Upon our arrival, I noticed how the museum was set and organized, making it really easy to find the required artifacts without much of a hassle. The first artwork we were required to find was a Grave Stele. The one that caught my attention was titled Gravestone of a Prominent Family. It is a 59-inch Greek stele made out of marble which dates back to 150 B.C. It was made in Smyrna which happens to be present day Turkey. When I saw this stele, the first thing that caught my attention was the sunken relief and the four different figures in the middle. The stele itself is a very detailed work of art. At the bottom of the stele, there is Greek writing that honors the family. In the middle there is the sunken relief aspect of the stele. It displays what seems to be a family standing around a torch. On the right you can see the women figure standing holding a tall torch, while on the left you can see the man figure with two children around him in
1. "Grave stele of a little girl [Greek]" (27.45) In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.
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
Victory Stele of Naram-Sin is a relief sculpture and was created in 2,200 B.C.E it is 6 feet high, so it is huge. The subject only includes men, and they are dressed for battle. This particular artwork was an illustration of Naram-Sin with his army and how his “enemies [would] fall, flee, die, or beg for mercy” (Kleiner 41). Naram-Sin is the largest figure, about twice the size of the other figures. In addition, he has a helmet with horns and weapons. There is a background in this relief, and it includes a mountain with a tree and there are two stars.
Never before have I seen a museum as grand as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. From its architecture to its massive art collection, The Met has a little bit of everything and one is sure to find something that captures his or her interest. Considering that The Met is the United States' largest art museum, it is easy to get lost within its many corridors and wings. My visit to The Met took place during the last week of July. Despite the almost unbearable heat and humidity that hung in the air, visiting museums under these climate conditions is a welcome respite from a suffocating, yet bright summer afternoon.
The artifact functions as a music box and was a prominent instrument during the Sumerian age and was most commonly used during funerals. In addition, since the piece of work was found in a royal tomb, one can further assume that it played a role in ancient funeral rites or banquets13. The Epic of Gilgamesh, explained earlier, could have also played a role in the development of this piece since it was a large part of literature in the Sumerian age. Even though the poem was written down hundreds of years after this plaque was created, it could be evidence for the first documentation of a long oral tradition13. Although there is no known patron of the work, it was most likely intended to be played and seen by an audience and give respect to the dead. In contrast, the Lapith Fighting a Centaur was apart of the Parthenon and had been widely known for centuries; it wasn’t a recent discovery. The relief, along with the 96 others on the building, depicts a legendary war between two factions. Even though these were mythic tales, they played a large role in Ancient Greek lives. The reliefs were created to most-likely educate the people of Greece about their gods and to recreate their religious
Museums have long served a purpose as cultural staples. For every museum, big and small, careful consideration is used in selecting its contents. When securing new items for a museum, it is most important to consider public appeal, educational value, and cost-effectiveness.
The figures are portrayed in a stylized manner. They have simplified faces and very straight, rigid bodies. Straight lines are mainly used to depict the silhouette of the characters in the stele. The figures look very 2-dimensional, their movements are restrictive, and thus they appear very non-naturalistic. Although the stele has a very flat stone color now, there are traces of paint on some parts of it which is evidence of it being bright and colourful when it was first created. The paint might have faded over time.
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.
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
Any questions about whether a museum-visit activity fits the course and assignment well enough will be decided by the instructor when the student seeks approval for the activity. Any alternative
The Hagia Triada sarcophagus was from Crete, Greece ca. 1450-1400 B.C.E. It was fond on a coffin decorating it sides. The panting displays the funerary rituals from the Minoan period. There are two events happening in the painting, on the left there is a woman pouring a liquid into
Perhaps illness so influenced the artistic style of Van Gogh, but the picture turned out completely different to all that the artist wrote so far. This is not a Van Gogh, who was known. In the canvas, there is tension, anxiety, dense colors and warm shades of olive-mustard. On the contrary, here there is some kind of lightness, airiness, and transparent weightlessness. On the manner of execution, the pattern resembles Japanese prints: iris field full of peace, a lightness, and transparency. "Irises" are simple and unique, they are striking in their serenity and the ability to remove the internal stress of everyone who saw at least reproduction. Painting simply breathes watercolor, translucency and make to look at it more than one hour.
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 Egyptian Mummy Mask from the early Roman Period is unique and beautiful in every way possible. This mask that is on display in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston is about 3 feet tall to about 2 feet wide. This certain piece of magnificent art is extremely detailed with intricate designs covering it all around. The Museum of Fine Arts makes it easy to pay attention to, because of its detail and how the mask is displayed. The Mummy Mask has it’s own small alter with a spot light shining down on it creating dramatic shadows in a very dim room. The decorations include inlaid glass eyes, a gold leaf and is hand-painted and gilded glass. This mask is not paper maché like the masks that were made in this era; this Mummy Mask had been created out of cartonnage . The Egyptians decorated this masterpiece with bold vertical and horizontal lines representing rows of beads to go along with the story it tells. The Egyptian Mummy Mask from the first half of the first century A.D illustrates a gaze of innocence and acceptance while looking into the bright future of whom the mask was made for. Perfectly painted images covering the mask tell a story of the traditional funerary practices and the after life Egyptians believed in. Egyptians would create these pieces to fit over the heads of the lost lives wrapped inside the mummy. The mask represents the deceased transformed into a God . Although the face of the mask is idealized and emotionless, the decorations say and express more than a
The artwork I chose to write about is The Indian Triumph of Dionysus which I came across on my visit to the Museum of Fine Arts. The artwork was commissioned by a wealthy Roman during the end of the second century A.D. Although the Dionysus cult may hold many mysteries it is known that this artwork originated in Rome. The individual who funded that creating of this sarcophagus desired to commemorate his beliefs. Desiring for others to know what he associated himself as is what gave birth to this masterpiece.