Artworks Purpose and Function - Research Paper Example

Women from Willendrof and coffin of the priest Pedi-Osiris Why did you choose these two art works? My reason for choosing Women from the Willendrof was because it is the most famous early image of a human. It is also known as Venus of Willendrof found by archaeologist in the year 1908 (MacCurdy 643). Its name Venus is after the Roman goddess of Love. Because of its great age and its female forms has been named as an icon of prehistoric art, which made me more interested in doing more research on. Since it had been used as a religious figure made me want to know more about it. The coffin of the priest Pedi-Osiris is about the art of ancient Egypt and found in the Museum of fine Arts Houston. I choose this art because of its importance among the Egyptians. The Egyptians believed about life after death, I wanted to do more research on the art and understand why they Egyptians strongly believed in life after death. Also, wanted to know why they made the coffin to Pedi-Osiris. My curiosity to know the art features made me focus on the art. 2. A scholar or source that describes the purpose and function of the artwork chosen According to Witcombe, the Women from Willendrof art served as a fertility idol, which includes all the female body parts that are required for a woman to conceive and in nurturing children (3). Because of the art does not have feet, Witcombe argues that is, it may have meant to curtail the figurine’s power, that is to leave whatever responsibilities had been placed on her (8). It is because the art is also seen as a carving of an ancient goddess. If one were to ignore its religious function and fertility purpose, it could only be identified as a Stone-Age toy for a kid. However, this is unsatisfactory because of its artistic ability shown is sculpting her figure. The purpose for the coffin of the priest Pedi-Osiris art was to put Pedi-Osiris, who as a priest of the god Osiris (The Museum of Fine Arts). It severs the purpose that Egyptians believed in life after death. Since it was made in the similitude of the gods and goddess, Coffin of the priest Pedi-Osiris was to protect the deceased and help him overcome the obstructions in the journey ahead, as it would be dangerous. 3. How are each artwork’s purpose and function changed once you place it on display within the museum? Placing the Women from Willendrof art, its purpose slightly changed, where looking at the art describe the beauty of a woman (Dobres 740). As opposed to these days how people view a beautiful woman as being slim, the prehistoric people appreciated the body of their women. In addition, how the breasts are big can depict that the woman can fully satisfy a young child breastfeeding. I did not see it as a religious figure, but as a symbol of fertility in prehistoric art. After seeing the Coffin of the priest Pedi-Osiris on display at the museum, I had to make my own interpretation. Seeing the features that the art had, which include a face made of gold, exotic black-line eyes and a bearded that is fake, as it represented a high rank in Egypt (Eisenberg and Minerva 8). It is thought that the coffin in Egypt was serving the purpose of burying a person of high rank. In addition, looking at the godly features of the art, I thought that it shows how Egyptians believed in life after death. 4. Two scholars or sources and their ideas that you found interesting about each artwork chosen The author, Christopher Witcomb of the article The Venus of Willendrof had the most interesting ideas concerning the art. I find it interesting how Witcomb suggests that by giving the artist the figurative name “Venus” one is setting it to filling as far as fulfilling one’s beauty expectations (7). However, the Classic Venus still represents beauty and femininity in today’s culture. A source that I found interesting to read is the MFAH, website concerning the art. It had detailed information with the description of the art, origin, historical data and artist. MFAH website has detailed information concerning the Coffin of the priest Pedi-Osiris art since it is in its display. The site shows the image of the art, the place of its origin, artist, data history and appearance. 5. Two scholars or sources that are in agreement or disagreement about the purpose and function of each artwork. According to Witcom, the purpose of the Woman of Willendrof is to serve as a fertility idol (1). Witcom does not agree with the argument of Marcia-Anne Dobres who says that a woman has protruding buttocks or in another word has steatopygous (740). However, they both agree on the purpose of the art and its functions. Sir James Frazer, who is the author of the book The Golden Bough states that the coffin of an Osiris priest was made of gold and carvings of the gods to show that they believed in life after death (328). It is the same as the MFAH website that also say that the Egyptians had faith in life after death. They had respect for the dead and made a beautiful coffin with gods to protect them from the dangers in their journey. 6. What electronic databases did you find most helpful in gathering information concerning your art works chosen? The electronic prehistory art database that I thought was of much help in my research was the http://arthistoryresources.net website. The website has adequate resources that show the prehistory, Art of the Ancient Near East and the Ancient Egyptian arts (Witcombe). It has diverse arts of that early time and showing their functions, location and their origin, thus helping me choose the Woman of Willendrof art. The other electronic database that was helpful in my research is the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston website that has many artistic of the ancient time (MFAH). The website helped me in choosing the Coffin of the priest Pedi-Osiris that I have discussed in this research paper. 7. What did you learn from your visit to the museum During the visit, I got much of the information on various arts at the museum. After visiting the museum, because of the comprehensive information I had acquired, it improves my social standards in the field of artworks. The museum visit was very important as it inspired me a lot. I was able to see variety masterpieces that come way back to the ancient times. There were arts of different genres and of a different time in art history. I have come to appreciate how different artist did their work and how unique their works were ranging from design, texture and composition (Anderson 141). Works Cited Christopher Witcombe. Venus of Willendorf; Christopher L.C.E. Witcombe Publishing Apr 01, 2013.pp. 30-1 Web May 3, 2014 George Grant MacCurdy "Some Recent Palaeolithic Discoveries," American Anthropologist 10 (1908). pp. 643 Gail Anderson. Reinventing the Museum: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on the Paradigm Shift. Rowman Altamira, Jan 1, 2004. pp. 141 James Frazer. The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion, the Temple of Earth Publishing 1992. pp. 335-323. Eisenberg, J., M. and Merrony M., Minerva, The Secrets of Tomb: The international Review of Ancient Art and Archaeology, Vol. 20, No. 6 2009 Pp. 8-7 Marcia-Anne Dobres "Venus Figurines," in The Oxford Companion to Archaeology. Edited by Brian M. Fagan (Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1996. Print The Museum of Fine Arts (MFAH), Egypt: Coffin of Pedi-Osiris, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston 2004 Web 3 May 2014 https://www.mfah.org/art/detail/egypt-coffin-pedi-osiris/ Appendix Name: Venus of Willendorf Original Location: Willendorf, Australia Date: 24,000 and 22,000 BC Material: Limestone Dimensions: 4.25-inch (10.8 cm) high Current Location: Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna, Australia Original Location: Egypt Title: Coffin of Pedi-Osiris Date: 305 B.C. A.D. 30 Material Carved and painted wood; gold Dimensions: 86 1/8 x 26 x 18 inches Current Location: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Read More