Last Post #9

Through out this quarter I have enjoyed learning many different types of art. Some were more interesting then others. Out of all the different periods we learned about two of them stuck out more then others, those were the Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt. I even would tell people all the cool facts and information that I learned, because I really did think they were awesome. I think the reason I liked these periods so much was because I had learned things about these times before. To this day some art works from those times still stick out in my brain one is the Giza Pyramids. They are so amazingly made with each brick being 2.5 tons, and there not just solid Pyramids they have a bunch of tunnels and rooms for the burial of emperor. which to me is just mind blowing that they could do something like that when they didn't have cranes or forklifts.
Another piece of art that just sticks out in my brain from this quarter that I really liked learning about is the archer from ancient Greece. It is so different then anything I have ever though of from that time era it is the one piece of work that is changing my opinion on what I originally thought of Greek art. since I first believed that all Greek statues were white and the Archers definitely proves that wrong since it was vibrant with color patterns. All the accepts of this period is really interesting with there hand painted vases and statues.
I really did enjoy almost all of the stuff we learned because it shows me things I didn't know about a lot of different cultures art and history. At first it was the visual details that sucked me into wanting to learn about then the history kept me wanting to learn even more because some of these period, which the people just amaze me.
Even though those two periods were my favorite I also enjoys different art works from all different times including the cave painting from the stone age. they were so realistic and really appealing to look at from the thoughts people have of the cavemen you would have a hard time believing that they made those paintings and they even did them in the dark! Another art work that stood out to me was the bronze doors on the Catholic church. They were amazing with such great detail, and had hidden meanings that foreshadowed the different scenes from the Old and New Testament.
Over all, I really enjoyed this class a lot more then I thought I would. I learned a lot of fun and useful information about ancient and medieval art. I am really excited to take the next art class next quarter.

Byzantine and Early Medieval Art

I chose to do option number two.
The Doors of Bishop Bernward where made almost entirely out of bronze. This was said to be the largest and most detailed bronze casting done since antiquity. Each panel has small intricate details that make up a different story from a book of the Bible. Each panel was paired with a another panel which was horizontally next to one another for different reasons like some people believed the stories depicted from both the Old and New testament had parallels that matched them together.
The two horizontal panels I chose to do for my post were from the sections called 'The Fall' and 'The Passion'. The names from the book of these two panels are "Temptation and Fall of Adam and Eve" and "Crucifixion". The "Temptation..." panel depicts Adam and Eve being tempted to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The part where Eve is giving the fruit to Adam in the Garden of Eden is the exact moment that is shown. That scene is a part of the Old Testament. While the panel horizontally next to it is the "Crucifixion". Which depicts the story of when Jesus was nailed by his hands and feet to the cross like a criminal. The exact scene on the panel is when he was already nailed down and looks like they were stabbing him with spears, while people watched. Both of these panels have a lot of open space in the back ground unlike some of the other that have almost there entire space filed with something. the open space show one of there main similarities because they are so basic yet each of them tell such deep meaningful stories and they do not need a lot of space to do it.
I feel these scenes were paired together because they both show signs of weakness, for example Jesus cannot do anything he just has to wait and Eve has temptation that makes her weak to which then she passes it on to Adam. I also feel that they have similar themes that fit together to tell a mini story. this one personally has the first sin happen when Adam and Eve disobey God by eating the fruit they were specifically told never to eat. The next scene from the New Testament shows Jesus dying on the cross for our sins so we can be forgiven. The Tree of knowledge of good and evil shows sin while the Cross show life and a chance to start over.
The Old Testament panel that I chose foreshadow what could come in the New Testament because it shows people will always sin even if they promise not too because temptation is hard to just make go away. Though it means that later on God sent his son to die for the peoples sins because he showing that he will still forgive you even if you sin and he made the biggest sacrifice of all.
Over all when this amazing bronze cast door was made for specific reasons and example that had them line up a part of a story from the Old Testament with a story that has similar hidden meanings from a story in the New Testament.

Roman Art post #7

I decided to do option number one.
By just looking at the Bust of Commodus as Hercules, on page 203 of the text book, you can see many different things the rulers wanted to be made about themselves. The first thing I noticed on the bust was the skin of the lion on the head and the club in his hand making him look like he was strong and just had a victory against the lion. He has more of the youthful look with no wrinkles on his face and a muscular stomach. The fruit in his hand makes it look like he has an offering or is bearing a gift, meaning he was generous. The bottom of the bust has grapes that I feel represents the god of wine and there are two birds at the bottom I feel also represent a god. So this could mean he wanted people to relate him to the gods.
The portrait head of Caracalla, on page 204 of the textbook, is very different then the Bust of Hercules. First it looks older with the frustrated look that gives him some wrinkles. It gives off the persona of strength with a powerful look. He looks like someone you would not want to mess with or you would be in serious trouble. He probably would want people to associate him with being powerful and his looks to be showing he could handle anything. While his portrait looks real with the details in his face and eyes. The hair on his head seems unreal, though it has some texture to show its hair it doesn't look like hair.
Both of these sculptures look like powerful men that have had many victories in their lifetime that make them very important people. They do not have a lot of similar qualities. I feel like Hercules looks more like a powerful ruler then Caracalla. Caracalla looks like he is a powerful solider after battle or going into battle. For me though it was hard to tell what he is by looking at it because it is just his head so it doesn't show his status unlike Hercules who shows more than just a head so it gives you a better idea of the situation. They both have realistic features that make them seem life like but, Caracalla has more of the intense realism. Also like the Head of the elder that was described during the lecture. While Hercules has a realistic statue it feel like he was only a statue, meaning he looks more posed not real especially with his facial features.
Each of these sculptures serves a different purpose and is meant for specific audiences. Hercules was for all the people to show how courageous and strong he was. Also to show how good of a warrior he was by slaying a lion and skinning it to wear the skin as a head dress. I feel Caracalla was meant to show determination that he had. Also to show that he had strength by his facial expressions. This sculpture I feel was made for a small group of people to show how great he was.
All in all, while this sculptures are very different, but amazing works of art. They both show many different example of how rulers and people wanted to be seen by others. It also shows who they were made for in the first place.

Post #6 Greek Art

I picked option one for one main reason when I listened to that lecture it really got me wondering if I could look at a painted piece of Greek work and actually know it was Greek because I have for so long put the white statues to Greek art. Especially white statues with no arms and it always made me laugh how Disney made it Hercules fault they had no arm when he accidentally broke them off. Johann Joachim Winckelmann was a art historian and also a archaeologist that took roman art works to promote and discover things about Greek works. he stated that art should be pure and simple like the Greek art ( the statues being fully white with no color) and that "pure"white marble is ideal beauty. Also that color shouldn't play a big role in people view of beauty. I personally feel that his ideas and perception has greatly affected our perception today of Greek art. The Disney movie Hercules shows proof because all the statues that where seen were in fact white and very simple. also like I said earlier I do not think I could look at a painted statue and figure out it was Greek because it put into my mind that they were always white. I'm not sure though if art today would be different if Winckelmann did not promote his ideas. there might have been a chance that if he didnt say anything that people could have thought that white is not pure which I guess would affect the look of some art works that look was for pure beauty on those standards. Though now days color is used every where in art even on statues and if color isn't used they are not really white or simple for that matter, like statues today have so many details like clothes or hair, ect. When I saw the example in the lecture of a Greek statue painted I did not really know what I thought because I like the pattern details with the paint, but I felt that the white seemed more realistic which is weird because the painted one probably showed have looked more realistic. For example, the "Dying Warrior" looks so realistic as he tries to hold his body up this statue makes me see in my head a man doing the same thing, but while I look at the "Reconstruction of the Archer" it feels cartoon-ish to me like someone just decided to color on the statue no that it was made that way for a reason. If i look at the actual "Archer" statue I feel like someone is really doing something. My perception of Greek art really hasn't changed that much because my mind is still telling me it must be from a different era or civilization. It has however made me realize that there work wasn't really simple that it had detail it just has all disappeared. I think it will definitely take a while for me to actually believe they were painted because I still just can not see it.