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In the Byzantine era, there is a notable increase of depictions of the Virgin Mary. I think this could have been one of the reasons a lot of the art from this period was considered to go against the Second Commandment and was consequently a target of the iconoclasts. The Virgin Mary is definitely a very religious icon, however depictions of her went against the Second Commandment because they weren’t images of Christ. At least that’s what I think, I’m not sure because the message behind the Second Commandment is a little unclear and confusing to me.
Lucas- Somehow I’ve never noticed that there weren’t any depictions of God himself, you’d think that would have been hard to miss. Thank you for pointing that out! That’s very interesting. I wonder when and why people started to depict God himself.
Kaitlyn- I like how you pointed out the catacombs were a blend of Roman, Etruscan, and Egyptian burial practices. That supports the idea we were talking about a couple weeks ago with each culture being influenced by all the ones before it. Early Christian/Jewish art wasn’t just influenced by Roman art, but by all the art and practices that came before them.
There are many instances of syncretism between Jewish/Early Christian art and architecture and that of the Romans. A good example this is the Royal Complex of Herodium. Herod had a bathhouse built in the traditional Roman fashion, and the overall structure and architecture is very reminiscent of famous Roman structures. Another great example is mosaic at the Beit Alpha Synagogue. The god Helios that is depicted in the center is a very clear sign of Roman influence in the artwork, as well as the overall style of the mosaic being very reminiscent of Roman mosaics.
For my final project, I decided I wanted to recreate the Mask of Tutankhamun with watercolor. I’ve always thought this mask was really cool, and I was excited to paint it! Here are the links:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1zyBO77YmgYEe03RRbrt0CaIXooJjL0j4u0EHJ0UbMig/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dV67pcTB5aK9z2QdGZ_bYWvV2I_b33o-sR4N8QCgBiE/edit?usp=sharingMaggie-
I love how you said that we are also influenced by the cultures that influenced the Romans. All cultures are influenced by those before it, and I think the reason we take so much inspiration from the Roman culture is because it lasted so long.Roman art and architecture is everywhere in todays society. A lot of the worlds political buildings have columns very reminiscent of Roman architecture. The Roman government was very powerful, so its no surprise the world emulates their buildings for our own government buildings. The Romans were the first society to put their ruler’s faces on coins, and now pretty much the whole world follows this practice. I think the majority of what the world has taken away from the Roman empire is the strength of their rulers, and we have integrated the aspects of their culture that helped illustrate their power.
Maggie-
I like how you said that propaganda art helped the rulers sustain their power. I wonder what would have happened without the use of art as propaganda, so we could see how much the art actually shaped people’s opinions.A lot of the art we have looked at this semester can be seen as propaganda. The Egyptian rulers used art to prove their right to rule by showing them in close quarters with the gods. Many other cultures used art this same way, including the Romans with the “Augustus of Primaporta” that had cupid on Augustus’ leg to illustrate his divine lineage. Another example of the Romans using art as propaganda is the “Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius” which portrays Marcus as a great horseman, which shows he is powerful and able to control a powerful steed and therefore a great leader.
I definitely think Hellenistic art was a progression of Humanist values. The art of the Hellenistic period included all different kinds of people, not just the idealized figure that greek art had in the past. This is a progression of humanist values because it celebrates all aspects of humanity in the same way the ideal human had been celebrated in the past, which is taking the humanist beliefs that humanity is powerful and that humans are inherently good to a new level.
It’s pretty clear that women in the Etruscan society were more respected than those in other cultures. In both the “Sarcophagus of Larth Tetnies and Thanchvil Tarnai’ and “The Cerveteri Sarcophagus’ women are portrayed as being on the same level as men, which I don’t think had really been done in any other cultures. There is also the first portrayal of affection between a husband and wife, which I thought was really interesting because the Greeks found the idea of men and woman socializing together offensive.
Miranda-
I love that you pointed out the Capitoloine She-Wolf. I think it shows both the nurturing/maternal side of women, as well as the strong ferocious side of women, which I don’t think had been done before this piece!
Great Post!Tamara- I completely agree! I think the way artists portrayed realistic people from everyday life is taking a humanism a step further by recognizing the greatness all people, not just the idealized ones!
Laura-
I think it’s cool that you said that the Old Woman might have been a follower of Dionysus. I think that shows what makes this period’s art so great. The individuality of the sculptures really makes the viewers think.Before the Hellenistic Period, the greeks really only focused on creating sculptures of idealized bodies in their prime, and many of them looked the same. During the Hellenistic period, however, people began to branch out and create sculptures of more unique people. The old woman is a depiction of a person past their prime, which hadn’t really been done before this period. Perfect proportions were less important, and the things that made people unique were celebrated. This led to some really incredible art that celebrated individuality.
