Art 1010

Art 1010

Question One

The Narmer Palette, discovered in the late half of the nineteenth century is believed to be a documentation of King Narmer’s unification of ancient Egypt, as evidenced by the inscribed images on the palette. The back face contains information regarding the Upper Egypt. At the top section between the inscribed bulls is King Narmer’s name, an imagery of his aggressiveness and strength. The king adorns the white crown, an authoritative emblem used in Upper Egypt while grabbing an enemy’s hair in his left hand while the right hand bears a weapon to hit the enemy. This is a documentation of his conquer and rule. A smaller image of a man carrying the king’s footwear and basket is placed behind Narmer’s image and this is indicative of loyalty and duty. Success in the battle is indicated at the lower part of the palette with two dead foes just beneath the king’s sketch. The front also begins with the bulls and the king’s name that is now adorned with a red crown, used in Lower Egypt. He has subjects before and after him as he is led to examine the demised bodies of his enemies. Below this, there are two tethered creatures and this indicates merging of the two kingdoms. The king is then imaged as a bull conquering a walled fortress (David, 2007).

Question Two

The Greek culture is founded on the religious principle of polytheism. The gods and goddesses in the same culture had sexual relations for procreation of other deities. With the supernatural qualities that the deities possessed, they could project themselves into an understandable human form that was distinctive of normal human life by qualities of beauty, vigor and agelessness. The Iliad is a heroic poem written by Homer, a renowned Greek poet, documenting the work of gods and goddesses in ancient Greece and its environs. The setting for the poem is the Trojan War set between the Spartans and the Achaeans in the former’s fortress of Troy. The ancient Aegean had been divided into various monarchies that were ruled by the affluent in the society. The poem offers knowledge regarding battle waging in the early period. The king had the mandate of leading his army into battle and for protective measures; the soldiers had to be clad in protective gear like breastplates and shields. Chariots offered transport and javelins as well as swords would be used for long and short distance combat respectively. Formations had to be strictly adhered to reduce the rate of casualties. Different gods and goddesses were also present in the battle to aid sides in which they represented (Louden, 2006).

Question Three

Minoan palaces were often located in low-lying sites and contained many large and open compartments that were assigned to the various tasks. These compartments were fashioned as additional appendages to a central open courtyard such that the resulting structure was in the form of a labyrinth. Drainage facilities were often in the form of wells, conduits and highly sunken wells for fresh water provision. The palace contained internal and peripheral staircases that would be used to access the storage and meeting rooms. The interior walls were mainly constructed with a mixture of coarse stones and bricks that were joined with mortar. The external walls were however constructed with large blocks lacking any form of decorative work. No security walls were constructed around Minoan palaces. Mycenaean palaces on the other hand were heavily influenced by Minoan architecture yet a few differences can be noted. The stones used by the Mycenaeans were much huger than those of their predecessors were. Details were accorded to joinery work to create construction accuracy for decorative purposes. As opposed to open architecture, the entrance into the palace was fashioned as a porch constituting of two columns referred to as the megaron. Corbel vaulting was used to create appendages that are similar to current domes for the purposes of lighting (Roth, 2007).

Question Four

The Harvester Vase was an art item discovered in the Hagia Triada palace serving the Minoans. The vessel was sculptured using green-brown soapstone that tends to appear as black. Unlike other vessels, the vase constituted of three distinct parts noted as the neck, the upper section and the lower section. The neck is highly polished to maintain aesthetic value with the rest of the vessel. The middle part contains a group of twenty-two individuals whose identity remains a point of contention to the present. The men have a leader that is easily distinguished by his clothing unlike the followers who only have the lower covering. The group marches while singing, and in their hands they have tools consisting of three prongs. A majority of scholars believe that the group is a parade of olive farmers bearing their harvesting equipment and singing from the success of their produce, hence the title Harvester Vase. Other scholars believe that the group is made up of successful soldiers that have used the instruments to burn their victims. The lower part consisted of the ground and feet of the men. Additionally, the vase is noted to be the first Minoan item in which human emotions are exhibited. It is therefore believed that the vase provided a basis for Greek work in the Classical and Hellenistic eras (W. Janson, & F. Janson, 2003).

Question Five

The painting in Nebamun’s tomb contains the theme of superiority, with regard to nature. The king’s portrait is poised in alight watercraft that has no side rails for protection, yet he still maintains a perfect balance on the water. The king is on a bird-hunting trip; in his left hand, King Nebamun is holding a bird while on the other hand, he holds a stick that he uses to kill the bird before picking it in midair. The young princess aboard the craft, most likely his daughter, holds to her father’s foot with a single hand while the free hand is used to gather flowers from the water body. Even with his daughter’s force on his leg for support, the king still does not lose his balance. As the hunting rages on, the fish in the water are depicted as calmly, an emphatic element in the painting’s theme. This picture contrasts with King Ti’s painting that although indicative of a hunting expedition has the king’s lack of involvement in the activity. The animals being hunted in the latter portrait are the hippopotamus and the king has his servants taking the active role in the cause. King Ti takes a relaxed and poised (perfectly balanced) stand on the watercraft for supervision and this is indicative of superiority and nobility themes in the picture (Kleiner, 2009).

Question Six

Egyptian art is primarily shaped mostly from its beliefs. The after-life is one of the noted aspects of Egyptian art majorly indicated by the paintings held on tombs. Bird hunting and fishing are the most commonly used pictographs in Egypt. Both sessions always have the demised individual ferried on a light water craft, fashioned from papyrus and the head of the family would be involved in the hunting activity by use of harpoons or throw stick. Within the same watercraft, family is always represented by a young child and a wife to the hunter are also included. The clothing adorned for the trip is usually of noble origin and made of linen material. With this sort of painting, the demised individual is equated to Osiris, the resurrected death god to whom every demised individual must be incorporated into for rebirth. However, other scenes like military activity, religious depictions and domestic affairs could also be painted on an individual’s grave depending on their earthly indulgence. This was based on the belief that the painting would offer a joyful second life to the risen individual, as he could be able to travel and get in touch with the land of the living through the pictures. It also ensured continuity of earth life into the second world by offering the same activities that an individual enjoyed on earth (Janson, Penelope, Firma & Joseph, 2009).

Question Seven

Khafre being an influential Pharaoh had to be preserved in form of a statute believed to be a connection of the deceased ka (spirit) and the physical world. The seated sculpture is held by a pedestal resembling a throne and its static position has its eyes fixated in a straight line symbolic of the spirit’s everlasting existence in the physical world. The youthfulness depicted by the statute and the physique was used to symbolize divinity noted by the image’s agelessness. The material used to create the statute was diorite, a superior type of material that withstands time and wearing aspects and this inferred a quality of supremacy and power attributed to the Pharaoh. The serenity in which the figure is poised symbolizes the peace that the Pharaoh experiences in his second life. The material used for sculptures was in proportion to the role and importance one had in the society. Therefore, use of the hardest stone is indicative of the Pharaoh’s political authority. Pharaoh Akhenaten was noted in his reign, not for his powerfulness but rather for the introduction of the monotheistic worship of the sun god, known as Aton. The statute has crossed arms indicative of his closed religious view and his eyes are sculpted half-closed indicative of the reluctance to preserve the ka. The material used is cast stone, an inferior substance (Wilkins, Bernard & Katheryn, 2008).

References:

David, A. R. (2007). Handbook to life in ancient Egypt. Oxford, UK: OxfordUniversity Press.

Janson, H. W., & Janson, A. F. (2003). History of art: the Western tradition. Essex, UK: Prentice Hall PTR.

Janson, H. W., Penelope, J. E. D., Firma, F. H., & Joseph, J. (2009). Janson’s short history of art. Upper Saddle Rvr, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Kleiner, F. S. (2009). Gardner‘s Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective. Clifton Park, NY: Cengage Learning.

Louden, B. (2006). The Iliad: structure, myth, and meaning. Baltimore, MD: JHU Press.

Roth, L. M. (2007). Understanding architecture: its elements, history, and meaning. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Wilkins, D. G., Bernard, S., & Katheryn, M. L. (2008). Art Past Art Present. Denver, CO: Prentice Hall.

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