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RE Laura
So true! There is still a lot of this same influence on us. Columns aren’t going away any time soon! You are also so right about the catacombs. They certainly resemble ones that have come before them. Great post!
We do see syncretism through early Christian and Jewish art. One area that I saw this was in the Cubiculum of Leonis, Catacomb of Commodilla, Rome. Christ is Depicted with a halo, which was borrowed from Roman Emperors. Christ is also depicted the way a Greek scholar would have been in order to be understood as a wise person. Also, in the sculpture of the good shepherd, we see Christ depicted carrying a lamb on his shoulders, which was commonly used in Greek and Roman art to depict the pagan sacrifice of a ram. Early Christians used this same motif in order to portray Christ laying his life down for the church. This sort of ‘overlap’ or borrowing from other cultures in art is very prevalent through history and is especially evident in Early Jewish and Christian art.
RE: Lucus
I hadn’t thought of it that way. Really great points! God isn’t ever depicted in this art. Perhaps this is because the people at this time would have easily mistaken a statue for God, rather than simply a picture of him. The other religions at this time would bow down to images as if their gods were actually present in the stone. Yet the God of the Jews and Christians set himself apart by not being limited to human description. Interesting!
Personally, I feel that the Jews did a better job of keeping to this command than the Christians did. In the various Jewish Catacombs we see little to no depictions creatures or forms that would be used for worship within other religions. When they made art, they depicted the instruments that were used for worship in the temple, such as the menorah. While there are some depictions of animals and the occasional person, they are not painted in a way that would bring attention to them. The viewers of these works would never think that the people or the animals would have been an object of worship. The Christians, on the other had, depicted a plethora of people, and animals. And while it could be argued that they did not intend to worship these images, I still think that there was a stronger reverence and concern for the second commandment seen in Jewish art than in early Christian art.
For my final project I decided to recreate a the Bronze Statuette of a Veiled and Masked Dancer. To do this I opted to make a video. I posted it to my youtube account, so you should be able to easily access it. There is a photo of the original work of art on the paper– for reference. Enjoy! (:
paper: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oQ0R9W_PceE7bCY_r4UT9QJMZwmKh44roKiQ5CMg810/edit?usp=sharing
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKSgSD8EQAY&feature=youtu.be
RE: Lucus
You’re so right. A lot of times the message is so low key people probably wouldn’t have naturally caught on, but those values would have slowly seeped into their minds unconsciously. This is such a sneaky way to alter the perspectives of the people, yet it can be so effective. Other times, the message is far more loud and clear. What an incredible tool!
Using art to promote political agendas and ideas is absolutely not a new thing. Governments have been using art to push their perspectives and plans since governments have existed! The Romans were not exception to this rule. One example of this is seen in sculpture Augustus of Primaporta. In the sculpture, Augustus was communicating that he was a great orator and a military victor. His body is portrayed perfectly as an Greek athletes would be. Just beside his leg is Cupid riding a dolphin. This represents Augustus’ victory in the battle against Antony and Cleopatra. It also communicates Augustus’ is a descendant of the gods. On his breastplate, there is depictions of gods and goddesses. The message here is that Augustus has the god’s on his side. This sculpture carries the message that Augustus wanted to communicate. The he was a strong, capable, victorious leader, and that he had every right to be where he was, as he had been blessed by the gods. This is a common theme in Roman art. They did a great job of communicating their ideals and values in way that would have certainly been effective.
RE Laura,
I like what you said about Roman culture being a melting pot of many of the cultures that came before it. You’re so right in that this compilation would make what we understand to be ‘Roman’ to stick around for so many years. Roman architecture was heavily influenced by the Greek and Etruscan architecture. Also, the fact that so much of their architecture is still standing, and is so wide spread, makes their influence very long lasting. I hadn’t considered that as a potential reason for their influence to have been so great.
Awesome post!
Even though the Roman empire ended nearly 2000 years ago, we are still being influenced by their thoughts and ideals in many areas in our modern society. The use of complex road systems, arches, and bridges all originated from the Romans. In the USA and in other parts of the world, many governmental buildings resemble roman architecture. Their style of architecture is still valued and used in many homes as well. When I was young, my mom had a number of decorative roman esc columns around the house. Another similarity I see is the use of games in order to keep the people at ease. While there are some differences, looking at our modern sports stadiums, it is clear that we have, like the Romans, glorified the place that sport ought play in society. The Roman language, Latin, has also had a tremendous impact on a plethora of languages, including English. Many of the root words in English are, in fact, Latin. Also, the English alphabet is based off of the Latin alphabet. The reach and impact of Roman culture on western culture is wide reaching. Rome has paved the way for western civilization.
RE Miranda
You made a really good point about the separation of men and women in Greek culture. There was certainly a level of intellectual conversation as well as social interaction that women were not welcomed to in previous Greek culture. But you are so right, while it does seem that women played a much more valued role in this culture, we really don’t know all the answers as we have lost so much from these cultures.
RE Bob
I really love that first sentence! How beautifully put! The Hellenistic period really did deepen and broaden our understanding of humanism in the arts! There is certainly a progression in the story line being portrayed in the arts. In the classical period we didn’t see nearly as much realistic human emotion within art, but that expression becomes far more prevalent in the Hellenistic period.
Awesome post!
There does seem to be a dramatic shift in the position that women played in Etruscan society that we certainly haven’t seen up until this point. In Egyptian art, women were generally depicted as smaller than their husbands, slightly behind them, or beneath them. Until Etruscan art, I don’t recall there being much affection displayed or celebrated between husbands and wives. While there was often an emphasis on the after life in most of the cultures we have studied, those cultures didn’t feel the need to express their desire to be close with their spouses in the after life. But, we see at Cerveteri Sarcophagus and the Sarcophagus of Larth Tetnies and Thanchvil Tarnai, representations of husbands and wives laying close and lovingly embracing each other. These images show a sort of balance and mutual respect between the man and the woman as well as a clear desire to remain in the afterlife together. The husbands do not seem to Lord over their wives. There is a strong sense of love and cheering in these depictions, which certainly doesn’t seem to have been the norm leading up to this point! This is a great shift for women, and I am sure the change in the status of women played a very massively positive role in the functioning of the rest of society.
While I can see both sides of this argument, I personally think Hellenistic Art added to the progression of humanistic values. While in previous Greek culture, the representation of the human body was generally flawless, somewhat generic, and little emotion was portrayed, in Hellenistic art we see artist taking care to represent humans in far more relatable and accurate ways. Bodies were still beautiful, but they were a bit less ideal, and certainly far more ‘human’ esc. So in a way, the idea of what ‘humanism’ was could have shifted. People were no longer represented in a godlike fashion, but their true humanity was being displayed and celebrated. Figures were less stoic and far more emotional. The acceptance and celebration of the less picture perfect parts of being human were beginning to be celebrated. That is certainly development in humanism if you ask me. If we are to remove the difficulty, struggle, and emotion that comes with being apart of humanity, we deny a massive chunk of ‘who we are’. By embracing the flaws and struggles of humanity, a deeper love and appreciation for it can develop, and this is what we see in Hellenistic art.
RE Miranda
I like what you said about representing the individuals body in its natural state. Even individuals that likely wouldn’t have been considered ‘important’ in society were celebrated and beautifully represented. And you are so right about capturing moments rather than capture contemplation! Many of the sculptures are in the middle of moving. It is a snapshot of a moment in time that almost couldn’t be recreated! I find that sort of perspective so interesting and even deep.
In the Hellinistic period we see a dramatic shift towards realism. The works were no long generally idealized bodies, they instead possessed far more real human attributes. We see this in the depiction of a sleeping Cupid. Before this time, children were depicted as ‘tiny adults’ but in the sculpture we see a far more accurate representation of the body of a child. With the soft rounded features, belly rolls, and even childlike facial features and hands. Also, in this time period there is a shift to far more dramatic scenes, for example the ‘Dying Gallic Trumpeter’ is seen laying on the ground with a bleeding wound and face of intense defeat. The artist seemed to be capture a moment so unique and unlike other works before it. The artists really shifted from making stereotypical beautiful moments and people, to capturing more real life moments of particular individuals. I think this could partly be because as the art shifted, people began to see just how much variation there was in the human body and in the ways that beauty could be expressed. While the Dying Gall isn’t exactly an ideal representation of strength, the form is still aesthetically pleasing and absolutely beautiful.
