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RE: sjsaccomen
I thought it was so interesting that you put clothing into your discussion. I did not see many others with that observation you came up with. I connected that after you pointing it out and sculptures really did start looking identical because of clothing. Good post!RE: sjsaccomen
You added to your post that “The art in early Jewish and Christian art was usually images mostly of Christ.” This stood out to me because I believed that Christ/God was not portrayed in art. I thought that only his acts that impacted individuals were shown. Your post was great and well written! I was just curious about your statement.Syncretism is seen through early Christian and Jewish art. The Early Jewish and Christian artwork also throws a roman twist into their art. An example of the early Christian and Jewish cultures throwing a roman art twist into their art is the Good Shepard sculpture. Jesus is in the contrapposto position which is taken from the Greek and Roman cultures. The clothing on this sculpture is also replicating clothing from Greek and Roman sculptures. Another example is the columns at St. Peters Basilica. These columns are almost identical to the columns from Roman structures. The Greek and Roman eras helped boost the growth of art and we can see that now when looking at art that is created years after.
After exploring different art from earlier religious cultures and eras there is a big difference between the art and this verse. The Egyptian and Greek cultures portrayed art that was of the gods. These cultures created art to show off their gods. Their art goes against this verse because they did not solely focus on the one true God. In the early Jewish and Christian culture, one god is only mentioned, Christ. Christ is not shown in the art during this time though. The work in the Christian and Jewish culture portrays churches or synagogues. This art does not depict “false idols,’ but are instead dedicated to them in service of God. The art forms did not show off god but instead, the pieces were of the people he had impacted such as Mary and Jesus.
As new religions grew, a shift is seen in how those in positions of social and political power demonstrate this in Byzantine art. The new religions that were coming to life were early Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. The spike of religions became a large part in the culture whether it be social, political, or cultural. The art that was being created during this time was then used to communicate how much these spiritual systems were needed and how important they were compared to the realistic imagery of Greco-Roman times. Byzantine art began to shift back to 2D form instead of 3D form how art started to shape into over generations. This is a big social and political shift in understanding history. I believe the culture was less focused on evolving the art they created. This era was more focused on using their art to portray stories and communicate. Individuals may not have tried to evolve art during this era due to strict religions.
A lot of the art we have seen in the past and the present have a propagandistic effect on individuals. Art is a form of communication and many people have a purpose for their art. In Ancient Egypt, they used art to show their beliefs in the multiple gods they had which might attract others to believe in these gods. In Ancient Greece, the art created was to show the ideal form of human bodies. This could get into peoples heads and cause them to strive for this ideal body form. An example of the Romans using art as propaganda is the “Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius.’ This statue portrays Marcus riding a horse. The statue shows that he is powerful and able to control the powerful creature. Therefore he could be considered a great leader.
We can find traces of Roman influence in forms and structures throughout the development of Western culture. It has left an impact on our language, art, and architecture. Today, columns that the Romans once used are implemented into many of the structures we build. Such as state and federal buildings. The sports stadiums we see today have oval shapes and tiered seating, derive from the basic idea the Romans developed like the Coliseum. Finally, many Latin root words are also the foundation for many English words. The English alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet. Along with that, a lot of Latin is still used in the present-day justice system. The ancient Romans helped lay the groundwork for many aspects of the modern world. Ancient Romans shaped our cultures in many ways that still sit with us after 2000 years.
RE: sjsaccomen
Hello sjsaccomen, your post is related to mine in a way. We both agreed that the Etruscan culture was a step in a new direction were men and women were about the same. You added that men and women used to be buried separately though and that this culture changed that. Husband and wife were now buried together. That was a great example to add to your post and I couldn’t agree with you more. That definitely signifies change.In the Etruscan culture, women seemed to have a higher reputation than other cultures. Women were not as degraded as they used to be. The women were moving up in the Etruscan society and were almost seen to be as equal as men. A sculpture that holds much power is the She-Wolf. It is a female figure where Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, are suckling from the She Wolf. By having this change it opened up the future of future art and also cultures. This was a step toward women being independent and not being undermined by men.
RE: sjsaccomen
Hey Sammi,
Your reply was full of good information and was a well-written post. I also believe that the Hellenistic era was a progressive period and not a regressive period. Great post!I can see both of the sides of the argument when talking about the Hellenistic era. It can either be progressive or it can be regressive. The opinion can be up to any individual though. It is how your perspective is whether it be positive or negative. I believe Hellenistic art to be progressive though instead of regressive. This greek art focused on a more realistic image of the human form. Babies, children, older women, older men, and a lot of gods were in the prime focus of the era. These statues took on a very relaxed and realistic form and also the way the statues were positioned was relaxed and casual. It focused on more day to day things. This was a shift from older Greek art and a shift into a new era which started to move away from looking like a god and having no imperfections. The Hellenistic era focused on humans as a whole, our imperfections, and also portrayed us in a relaxed manner portraying our real lives.
RE: Tamara Toy
Tamara,
Great post about the Hellenistic period. I liked how you threw examples from this week into your post. It is very interesting to see that gods were becoming more human-like and that the bodies in the Hellenistic period were not as perfect and ideal as the Classical period.RE: Laura Barber
Laura,
I really enjoyed what you had to say about the Classical period. Your statements about people using photoshop to change their bodies and putting themselves through unnatural diets are something that our culture deals with on an everyday basis. It is very sad to know people try to reach an “ideal’ body that our society has made. It has defiantly led to body shaming as you said.The Classical period dealt with contrapposto and ‘silver ratio’ designs, but the Hellenistic era started to move on to a broader representation of both humans and gods. In the Hellenistic period, human perfection started to change and free form began. As you can see when looking at the ancient sculpture “SLEEPING EROS’, the sculpture does not have a perfect body shape like during the Classical period and the god is laying down. The bronze sculpture, “DYING GALLIC TRUMPETER’ did not have large muscles and other shapings like the Classical period. Each sculpture created in the Hellenistic period was different and provides the era its diversity and individualism. The Hellenistic period did not just show the same human forms over and over again. It showed young children, middle-aged men, on up to old women and in free form. The artists formed the sculptures in real life events instead of contrapposto. The art in the Hellenistic period compared to the Classical period also had so much more emotions in the sculptures and in their poses.
In Ancient Greece, Greek individuals were extremely into the form of the human body. It was the center of attention compared to other eras. The Classical Period was when the statue’s positions began to change, and they took a more relaxed form. This new pose was called Contrapposto. Contrapposto was when the human figure is standing with most of its weight on one foot so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs. Like I said prior, this position gives the statue a more dynamic or relaxed appearance. This new pose was not the only new arrival in the Classical Period; it was also when Greek artists began to shape the human body in a newer and more perfect way. Women were shaped elegantly. Their bodies looked like a perfect tiny figure, and they were shaped to show off their natural human curves which artists made sure to emphasize. No amount of fat was shown on women sculptures making their human body the ideal body for women in that era. Men, on the other hand, had very masculine figures. Each statue of a man was vigorous. The muscles were shaped to look extremely large, and they were sculpted to show off every muscle the human body held. Again, not a single inch of fat was portrayed on the statue’s body. The ancient Greeks chose to depict the human body in its natural state, and each body had good proportions. The human body in the Classical Period could be considered the most “perfect’ human body. To me, this could have been the start of humans body shaming and trying to reach the ideal body. In the world we live in today we have images all around us of “ideal’ and “perfect’ bodies. If you do not have a well-sculpted body, you are shamed, and if you do have a “perfect’ body, you are praised. However, because of humans creating a body standard, it has caused much pain throughout eras. The ideal body and ideal body proportions have changed over the years making it harder and harder for people to obtain what society wants. Our contemporary society has gotten to caught up with body shapes and therefore has become too judgmental of humans around us.
