Mycenaean and Minoan Art

The Mycenaean culture lasted from 3000 to 1000 BCE, and part of this culture was known for making pottery and other luxurious items out of bronze, and local material. This bowl is known as a krater, and kraters were used for mixing liquids such as wine with water for religious purposes or gatherings. The physical characteristics are quite interesting in the fact that kraters are very broad in the middle, and I believe that the opening is almost the same in diameter, however, the bottom of the krater is very narrow.

When I observed the characters on the krater, I remembered in lecture discussing the unique pieces of art that portray figures of both human and of animal form. This piece of art resembles another piece of art that we have seen in lecture and in our book. Even though in this krater, the faces are of animalistic form and the bodies are of human form, the piece of art that I believe it to resemble is the Gaurdian Figures at Gate A of the Citadel of Sargon II. Even though they are opposite of each other, in terms of the places where the animalistic and humanistic characteristics are placed, they still resemble a narrative of strength and power that may not be obvious at first. Strength, power, and taking over, or “extending influence” are repeating themes discussed in our book. The functionality of a tool like this one, I believe ties in with the new civilization that was about to begin, which from what I read, is more independent from the previous periods we have discussed.

There was another krater from our book that introduces us to the use and style, called the Warrior Krater on page 99 of our textbook, which was to serve wine.

This krater certainly has unique characteristics painted on the body. It seems to have rooster faces from what I can tell, but yet human features however not in proportion to what we see when we think of humans today. The arms resemble stick figures and there are no curves whatsoever on the body. This characteristic is also seen on the arms of the individual who is standing behind the chariot on the right. The horse has a very elongated body with thin legs. As I was looking at the people on the krater, I noticed that only some characteristics of the people are highlighted in a darker color, however the horse is shaded as one color. Perhaps this shows that the horse is more significant to this piece of art.

The Minoan culture came into play by 3000 BCE on an island named Crete, which is apart of the Aegean islands. Crete can be described as a productive lifestyle in which the people living there were self-sufficient in terms of growing their own crops and goods. This culture was particularly named after a king named King Minos who was created as half man and half animal. King Minos was known for eating individuals who lived in his kingdom.

Even though this piece of art is not mentioned in our book, while reading about the Minoan culture, it mentioned on page 87 under the Bull Leaping at Knossos as apart of the new palace period, that the painters of this time liked painting human in their everyday lifestyle. Here in this painting, a fisherman obviously has caught an abundant supply of fish, more than likely bring it back to his family and/or friends to have a feast of some sort, or to stock up on food for a specific time frame. Perhaps even that this catch of fish resembles prosperity.

I feel like because the body of this fisherman is depicted as not strong, but almost in a way of elegance, it gives me the idea that this piece of art is in a culture that is rich in rituals, as well as rich in traditions handed down from one generation to the next generation. That is, that tradition is more important or equal to depicting strength or masculine look. This in mind, this reason gave me the idea behind the way the complexes were built. Just as shown in the Reconstruction of the Palace Complex on page 85. The book suggests that the courtyards in the complexes were meant to be the center of focus, because all other settings in the complexes are built around this area. Usually a setting such as this one may also be a symbolic representation of the way rituals, and traditions were mean to be centered around.

In comparison to other pieces of art, the physical way the fisherman is depicted holding the fish almost resembles the Egyptian style like the composite view. For example, the lower half of the body is in profile view, and the feet are facing to one side, however the top portion of the body is in frontal view. A great example on page 52 that we have discussed in lecture as well as some of us in our blogs is The Palette of Narmar, where Narmar is attacking a lower scaled figure below him. Narmer’s lower body is almost a duplication in the way the legs are depicted.

Egyptian Art

Egyptian art is certainly the most uniquely and distinctive compiled artworks throughout history, due to the style presented to an audience. I remember back in elementary school when I first started learning about the Egyptian, and I distinctly remember the artwork due being so unique, and the fact that the same form is illustrated on several of thousands of pieces. It is still amazing how that feeling and interest can last over more than fifteen years.

The most obvious difference between Egyptian art and other pieces of art is the fact that Egyptians used what is known as composite view, which is essentially taking a hold of different views and perspectives, and compiling and using them to depict one individual. As seen in several Egyptian artwork, the head is shown as a side view, with the eye facing to the front. When observing which the direction the hands are laid, the Egyptians thought it was important for the palm of the hands to face their audience instead of one palm and one back of the hand. The feet are always depicted in the same direction that the face is pointed, from what I have seen. Also, the face is almost elongated according to the video.

Throughout the course, we have been studying the human form and more importantly proportions of the body and how it is portrayed. For example, the Venus of Willendorf proportions are not realistic, however, the proportions of Egyptian human artwork are always in proportion and realistic to what we today are used to, with the exception of how the body parts are placed. For example, the shoulders are not exactly portrayed as if you were looking at a person standing in front of you. Another example is the arms that seem much longer than the average person’s arms. Perhaps it could just be a somewhat like an illusion.

The canon of proportions is a technique used to draw human figures in a way that if you were to overlap the human forms drawn they would be appearing as one human being. Egyptians used a very smart technique to convey perfect human form, which was using a blocks sketched on the walls. There were certain rules for each body part as well. For example, the feet are two and half blocks long. Not only do I think that this was a way for perfection according to a king’s orders, or to drawing them easier and faster, but also a way of not showing individuality. This idea does not present individuality, but yet there are unique features that are visual from one human figure to the next.

I think the creative aspect of Egyptian art came from drawing the same shape repeatedly, and intermix the hieroglyphs, which was like a narrative of what the characters on the art were doing, or what they did. They also showed angles that in reality human beings cannot contour to create a specific shape.

I believe that creativity was not that important to have because maybe that they did not want to feel alone, but yet they wanted to feel united in how they depicted themselves to be. What I mean by this is that if they all looked the same with similar characteristics, then maybe they would feel united.

Certainly not. Art can have an array of creativity and still be valued today. I also believe that it depends on the person’s opinions. Different emotions can be considered within a piece of art, and from that people can start to determine a meaning for themselves. Over this course, I am beginning to see that even though a sculpture might be just a toy for a child, we still want to know more about that piece because it has the potential to become important in a historical sense due to its creativity. 

Stele of Naram-Sin

Naram-Sin was a ruler of Akkadians in the Akkad territory from 2254 BCE to 2218 BCE. He was also the grandson of the founder of the Akkad Dynasty, and was also named the King of the Four Quarters, which translates to “Ruler of the World”. The Stele of Naram-Sin is a rather interesting piece of art due to what the piece of art stands for. The historic background is rather interesting, because with pieces of art such as this one, there could be potentially an infinite amount of stories or meanings that are expressed through this ancient piece, without knowing the historic background. Although the monument is an extraordinary piece of art because of the specific details, it does seem to have natural damaged done on the top as well as the bottom. Perhaps it was just a timely event. This monument stands approximately six feet and seven inches, and depicts the king who reigns over his victorious battle and people for which he protected, or who may have fought with him.

            The Stele of Naram-Sin is a solid brown color from top to bottom. Both the top and the bottom have abrupt edges perhaps the ends were just over time unintentionally trimmed. The monument has a triangular shape, made out of pink limestone, and fits the artwork inside perfectly. If you look at where the mountain stands, you will also notice that the stone has the shape as well. It might be able to stand on its own. At the angle that it is presented in the book and other resources, it is hard to tell because the book portrays the artwork from the front. However, the bottom is not flat, so I would think that it would not be able to do so. As for the composition, located at the bottom of the Stele of Naram-Sin, the surface of the art seems to be more rugged than compared to the top of the piece. This is possibly due to the amount of material that was sculpted, as well as the material of the stone itself. The picture of this piece located in the book, allows the art to appear dark on the bottom and light on the top. However, this perhaps is due to the way the angle of the light of this picture. The top of the piece shows as little of the sun and top of the mountain. Sometimes a piece of art does not appeal to our eyes because of the orientation and perspective among the people or objects within the art, however the amount of the material sculpted does look right in proportion to the size of the stone.

            The story of the Stele of Naram-Sin was showing the victory over the king who reigns in Lullibi, who he previously fought. Although they do have weaponry present in the soldiers hands, I think this victory expresses the feeling afterwards rather than the event or battle that took place. I believe the showing the war usually tells the story that is straightforward rather than the aftermath or the victory. This I believe leaves a lot to the imagination of someone who would look at this piece of art, without any knowledge of the historical background.

            Stele of Naram-Sin is a low relief sculpture, where some of the figures seem to have a distinct and clean carved region. For example, Naram-Sin seems to be clearly distinct person and his whole body is seen clearly, whereas the bottom of this art is not very clear. Some of the lower body parts on the lower half are not clear to what is their body and what is the rest of the stone. When I first looked at the artwork, I noticed my eyes immediately went to Naram-Sin, because he stands taller than the rest of the soldiers, as well as being the largest person present, and I think it has to do with the hierarchal scale. The soldiers all have some piece of weaponry, such as bows and arrows, or what seem to be hand tools, and possibly hand axes. You can also see that Naram-Sin is standing on his enemies that he has obviously defeated, showing power and strength over a weak front. The angle and steepness of the stairs, I believe is to represent how hard the battle is to reach victory, the top of the mountain, while at the same time allowing for the gods to be praised, and Naram-Sin’s victory and battle was there to honor the gods.

            The proportion of the mountain, the sun, and the people in this piece of artwork are not in proportion to what we would see in reality. Naram-Sin is only an inch lower than the mountain even though he is has one more step to go before being even with the mountain. This is a piece of art that shows who is most powerful and who is not. Being the largest person in the picture, it can be determined that the Kings of Four Quarters is the most powerful, while the others follow in his footsteps, maybe envious of what Naram-Sin possess.