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Jessi, you are correct that it seems like the artists of this period started to “break the mold” of the earlier periods and to start to think in terms of art and less in terms of function. In earlier times it seemed that they were making art to appease and honor their gods. Starting in the Hellenistic period it feels like that are using art to being honor to other things such as age and their enemies.
The art of the Hellenistic Period showed a great deal more variety in subject matter. This period also started straying away from the ideal body type and experimented with subjects that were not seen in earlier periods. In Sleeping Eros the subject is that of a god, but in the form of a baby. We also see the elderly portrayed during this period in the Old Woman. The Hellenistic Period also relied on pieces that showed emotion in the subject such as that in Dying Gallic Trumpeter and Laocoon and His Sons.
I also see the difference in that in earlier periods, the focus was about bringing the human subject up to the height of the gods. In the art of ancient Greece, it appears as if the focus is making the gods more humanlike. So instead of elevating ourselves to them, we have brought them down to where we are at.
Merriam Webster defines humanism as a doctrine, attitude, or way of life centered on human interests or values. The focus of much of the art of the time stopped being about elevating rulers to the height of the gods, but humanizing the gods to be more human like. For instance, in Nike adjusting Her Sandal, she is performing a rather mundane, humanlike act. In Sleeping Ero, the god of love isn’t some powerful deity, but a sleeping, defenseless child.
Maggie, I agree that art is meant to be enjoyed and protecting that art from being destroyed because of conflict is important. Heaven only knows how much priceless art has been destroyed because it demonstrated the wrong culture or religion. But every effort needs to be made to return that artifact back to its place of origin when it is safe to do so. Other cultures should be allowed to “borrow” artifacts to display though.
I do not think that there is a cut and dry answer as to who should own artifacts from the past. When the find is a building such as the Akropolis or the Parthenon, there is no questions that the find belongs to the city and country that it is in. It should not be dismantled and reconstructed elsewhere. When the find is mobile is when the answer becomes a little less easy to find. I would tend to lean towards the same rules that determine mineral rights. Whoever owns the land where the artifact is found, should be the owner of it. If the owner agreed to have a third party come into their land to look for artifacts, then whatever agreement was made by the land owner should be honored. When the land is not owned by anyone, such as international water, then the ownership is whoever makes the find. I do however believe that in instances where the owner and who discovers it is different, the discoverer should be acknowledged by having it named after them such as the Funerary Krater belonging to the Hirschfeld Workshop.
Using an example from modern times, when Germany was invading neighboring countries during Hitler’s reign, they would “confiscate” many great works of art. Much of this art has been recovered, but much more has been lost and it’s whereabouts are still unknown. Much of that art held great cultural significance to the owner.
I think you are right that one can get a warped view of what was going on at the time just by viewing a few pieces of art from the time. The warriors on the Warrior Krater actually look like they are enjoying themselves if you ask me. Some cultures were military based and their art represents that. Just because a culture was focused on its military does not mean that they were a warring people.
Much of the Mycenaean art such as their ceramics centered around their militaristic attitude showing soldiers marching off to war, whereas the Minoan culture seemed to revolve around a less militaristic way of thinking. Much of the Minoan art shows nature such as the octopus of the Octopus Flask to the Honeybee Pendant. Art usually takes on the attitude of the culture at the time. It is usually a statement of how the populace feels at the time. By comparing the Mycenaean and Minoan art, the Minoans seem to at peace where the Mycenaean’s were thinking of war.
The Mask of Agamemnon is still known as that even though Schliemann is the one that gave it that name and it was later disproved that it could not have been Agamemnon’s mask. That goes to show you that a lie can continue to be perpetuated throughout history and even though it is now known to not be Agamemnon’s mask, it is still known by that.
There are times when taking a little bit of artistic license is needed such as replacing the missing right arm and placing the cat on the head of the Snake Goddess with what they felt like it would have looked like. But Evans was guilty of incorporating his own ideas into his discoveries such as rebuilding parts of the Palace Complex at Knossos with modern materials that detracted from the complex. While Evans didn’t know what the initial palace complex looked like, Schliemann went even further “off the rails” by completely changing a piece of art. Schliemann took the Mask of Agamemnon and completely changed the look of it to make it appear as something that it wasn’t. He “modernized” the mask and in so doing, completely destroyed a piece of history.
The gods of the Egyptians were a facet of every part of their lives. This is clearly shown in The Judgement of Hunefer before Osiris. In the art piece, Hunefer can be seen being judged by a lot of the Egyptian deities. The gods of Anubis, Horus, Osiris, and other can be seen. Each deity held a different responsibility in the judgement and passage of the deceased to the underworld. Because the Egyptian felt that they would be judged after death, they felt that their deities needed to be glorified in art.
The art of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures had a lot of similarities, but also some noted difference. Both cultures relied heavily on comparing themselves to their individual gods and trying to elevate themselves to the level of the gods. The two different cultures also showed the hierarchy of their people and they would also show their savvy in battle in their art also. In the Palette of King Narmer, Narner is shown with his servant holding his sandals while he is defeating a foe. The practice of showing the subject without shoes on to represent them being on holy ground was also used in the cultures art.
Even though both cultures made a practice of building temples and tomb for their rulers, the Egyptian were much more worried about the afterlife and making sure that their ruler kept his or her status in the afterlife. The is seen in the exquisite craftsmanship of the Funerary Mask of King Tutankhamun which was gold and had was inlaid with precious stones.
The social hierarchy is very evident in a number of pieces of art of this time period. In “Assurbanipal and His Queen in the Garden”, there is a distinction between the rulers and the servants bringing them food. Even having his Queen seated at his feet seems like he is raising himself above her position. In the Votive Statue of Gudea, Gudea is seen holding a vase that the Euphrates and Tigris rivers are flowing out of. These two rivers were the lifeblood of commerce in that area, and by Gudea representing that he is responsible for the rivers producing what they do.
In order to hold on to your rule in Mesopotamia, you had to legitimize your rule and how one went about that is by elevating themselves to something about just being “mortal”. If a ruler could make his subjects believe that he was almost god-like, then the ruler would be much less likely to be confronted. The rulers would have art depicting them as great fighters such as the victory party in “Assurbanipal and His Queen in the Garden” or “Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions”. Even if the ruler wasn’t a great fighter, the perception of those he ruled over was more important. Modern political forces such as Saddam Hussein have used recreations of Mesopotamian culture in their own rule. Hussein partially part a smaller version of the Ishtar Gate at a museum’s entrance in Iraq.
