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My actual presentation didn’t originally link correctly.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FyjW9KJ1XItQIu27zsVLWOnSKj6h83P3nwLEP0hqq7Q/edit?usp=sharingThe focus of art, and by extension, society, experienced a large shift from previous times. The art of Rome was very much politically driven, with many statues and pieces of art depicting leaders and political structures. This shift came alongside the introduction of several new religions, such as the Abrahamic religions. Art went from depicting social and political structures and propaganda to religious structures and propaganda. Decisions made by the public became more driven by their religious beliefs than what their political leaders said. Religious leaders became a large part of society, and people started listening to their direction instead. These religious pieces of art aren’t meant to be realistic, they’re meant to show an individualistic style of what these faiths meant to the artist, and their appreciation for such.
I like that you brought up the personal significance of these images and the beliefs that sprung from their creation and use. That in itself explains the issues that people had with these images, that the focus of faith was not on the intended focus, but rather on imitations.
Byzantine art was definitely in the midst of when iconoclasm and graven images became a public issue, as images of gods and religious figures are commonly used today (many cathedrals have statues of Mary, and many pray specifically at that statue’s feet). Iconoclasm is still done today, though not on the scale that it was during the time of Byzantine art. Many pieces from this period are no longer complete, as parts have been destroyed during times of iconoclasm. The beliefs in whether or not graven images were heretical or not were definitely polarized, and that can be seen in pieces that are quite literally half-destroyed, such as the Ivory Panel with Archangel.This dualistic behavior shows the influence religion had on the Byzantine society as a whole, which, as shown by the art, is a very heavy one. Despite these periods of iconoclasm, most of the remaining art from the time relates to religion, however pretty much all of them aren’t direct depictions of God, moreso angels and other important religious figures, and therefore lie right on the line of “is it a true graven image or not?” This line is the reasoning between the polarized opinions and periods of iconoclasm.
Based off of the quality of your depiction of the Snake Goddess, I would have liked to see the Alkyoneus the Giant being slain by Athena on the Pergamon Altar’s east frieze, and I’m curious as to what you would have changed about that, if anything.
For my final project I did an attempt at an acrylic recreation of Nike of Samothrace with a personal touch, altering some details.
Presentation:
https: //docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FyjW9KJ1XItQIu27zsVLWOnSKj6h83P3nwLEP0hqq7Q/edit?usp=sharing
Paper: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10k-cz9HWo0tAFDUDtfL42WerZ8AIF_pl2r7KLY7THUU/edit?usp=sharingI hadn’t thought of how propagandistic features wouldn’t only affect the people of the empire, but with outsiders as you stated about the arches. It’s a great point, and can absolutely be translated to other parts of the world. For example, the Great Wall of China is absolutely a propaganda piece, to show the strength of the Qin Dynasty, but also to warn outsiders of such strength.
A large number of Roman art pieces were designed for propagandistic purposes. Statues and portraits of leaders were created, as well as statues that depict the state of government. The Tetrarchy is a good example of this, as it not only shows the system of government in place, but also the unity, solidarity, and impact of such a governmental form. Another example would be the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, as not only is an equestrian portrait a symbol of honor, it later shows another form of propagandism as the only reason it survived is due to the belief that he was Constantine, with ties to religion. These forms of propaganda are not in any sense new, and have lasted through the centuries to remain a commonplace product of governments around the world.
I’m glad you mentioned latin, because it is a hugely impactful remnant of the Romans, and is not only a large contributor to english, but is the base language to many others such as french, spanish, italian, and romanian, with heavy influences in many other languages as well. While it might not be the first thing many think of when Romans are mentioned, it is certainly the most wide spread and influential pieces of the past.
Many long dead cultures still leave traces in the modern world, but none so much as the Romans. This is most prominently featured in architecture, especially political buildings as well as stadiums and stages all around the world. The most impactful remnant of this culture, however, is the language. Latin has become the staple language for knowledge, wisdom, and remains to be considered a holy language in several religions. Despite no longer being actively spoken, it is used daily by those in the world of biology, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, and, of course, latin classes. Another example of the adaptation of Roman culture into religion is the Pantheon, as some of the reason it still stands is that it was adapted into a church, and hence survives to this day, where it is no longer the only building with a concrete dome.
The Hellenistic period was a time of individualism of its own as artists began to venture out into new poses, situations, and emotions to broaden their horizon. This resulted in a large variety of sculptures, ranging from young to old, ideal and not, human and god, and both realistic and fictitious. One example of this is the statue of Sleeping Eros, one of a child with a realistic form based off observation. Another is the Dying Gallic Trumpeter, another non-ideal sculpture leaning more towards the expression of raw emotion and realism (look at the detail of his feet!). Gods were also represented with one being my all-time favorite art piece, Nike of Samothrace (look at how soft her fabric looks! Her wings!) with beautiful detail, though also lacking in realism. Idealism is shown to still be present in the statue of Laocoon and his sons, as while his sons are about half his height, showing their youth, while also maintaining the physique of an ideal adult male. This sculpture also shows the power of emotions represented as well as incredible detail in the figures as well as fabrics, while the serpent lacks many realistic features. This period lends to many beautiful works of art presenting a large array of individualistic expressions.
I agree with your point on contrapposto being the revolutionary point in classical art, as it opened the door to many more forms of sculpting, from positions, to detailing, to more natural and emotion-conveying situations.
The introduction of contrapposto into ancient greek art marked an evolution of ideal structure and opened the door to an even wider variety of poses, body structures, and ideal forms as well as lifelike detail. The ideal form for men through this time remained trimmed and muscular, though through the classical period it experienced a shift from a stockier build to one of more elongated and lean stature. In temples, proportion was heavily involved, especially with columns as seen in the Parthenon with its 4-9 ratio. While the influence proportion had on temples and architecture didn’t change much, the ideal for the human body through sculptures evolved, and has continued to do so into the modern day, though the medium through which this is portrayed is typically in media and achieved through digital alterations to living people. Architecture in modern day has many forms, from a wide variety of places, and the ratios observed in classical Greece are still used today, though typically in political buildings and quite a few mausoleums. What people hold as ideal will always change, be it new physiological ideals for people or new architectural designs.
I agree with your point about heiroglyphics, as they are a prominent feature in Egyptian culture, and continue to be one of the first things people think of when they ponder ancient Egypt. The Rosetta Stone was by far one of the most important discoveries linking the modern day to ancient Egypt, because it allowed for much more research into the culture and beliefs of a civilization long gone.
