Impact of History and Gothic Art on Peace and Security - Essay Example

The Impact of History and Gothic Art on Peace and Security This paper entails a collection of 10 pieces of art from Prehistory style to the Gothic style. Each of the ten pieces of art selected portrays the theme of peace and security in terms of managing conflict and violence in a turbulent world. Peace and security are critical requirements in any society. The work of art has been used throughout historical periods to promote peace and security. The power of art in achieving these two societal goals is attributed to its emotive nature whereby works of art have been used to help people feel the sadness and damages of war thereby assisting then to instil the desire as well as the commitment of ending war, working collectively for peace and security in the society. Visual arts like paintings and sculptures are mostly considered in this case. Most of the considered paintings and carvings are found to depict an intersection of peace history and historical art. One of the historical arts is the Standard of Ur, which is based on the prehistoric art style of Mesopotamia. This Sumerian artefact was excavated from a royal cemetery with Ur, an ancient city in the modern-day Iraq. The main theme presented in this historical piece of art is the promotion of peace and societal security. This theme is attributed to the depicted war and security scenes. The Standard of Ur The function of this piece of art has been suggested to be a standardized team of keeping peace and security during the time it was created about 4,500 years ago. Some suggestions have also been raised that it was a chest for storing funds for use in works associated with warfare or even associated with civil and religious activities. Nevertheless, the scenes seem to show oneness in a war towards protecting the society. Side mosaics are part of the prehistoric style applied to show the war sides as well as the peace side. The first row of paintings seem to depict the preparation to war, the second one depicting the movement to the war, and then a victorious celebration of having conquered the enemy to promote peace and security. The visual art is considered to be parallel with merism, which is literary device used by Sumerians to describe the totality of situations by pairing the prevailing opposite concepts (Kleiner 24). Another piece of art is the Funerary Mask, which is an ancient Greek artefact discovered at Mycenae. The theme presented by the mask is that of death of a legendary Greek leader. This artefact is as shown below: The Mask of Agamemnon (Kleiner 55) As a leader, his superiority of being in a position to maintain peace and security through his authority is depicted by the golden material used to make the mask (Kleiner 55). As the leader of the warriors of that time whose work was to keep peace and security, the king had to be distinguished from his warriors through this kind of mask as an initiator of peace and security. The artifact was thus purposely created to show authority in issuing commands and decisions in the betterment of the turbulent society in terms of peace and security. The Parthenon pediments on the Temple of Artemis involve sculptures curved on the walls. The art work is among the finest instances of the Greek classical art. To portray the intended message of people ready for war towards the maintenance of peace and security in their kingdom, the figures seem to have been sculptured and engraved in a natural movement whereby the bodies have the vital energy for their tasks. This is seen in the case where the body flesh appears to burst through their tight clothes. The art piece further gives an impression of oneness in what seems to be a war. The artist seems to have distinguished between humans and gods, which is blurred within the conceptual interplay specifically between the naturalism and idealism bestowed on the stone wall by the artists (Kleiner 54). The use of such images on the temple wall further depicts the urge for peace among people. The West Pediment of Parthenon The Romanesque fresco is also among the ancient art works that helped in managing violence in the turbulence world by promoting peace and depicting the importance of ensuring security in the society. In this regard, the Apse of Sant Climent de Taull depicts such theme, which was critical in the society of that time. It was painted in the early twelfth century in the Sant Climent de Taull Church. The painting used religion to achieve such galls as managing peace in the society by uniting people. The piece of art combines different elements of Biblical visions of in an effort to present Christ during the Day of Judgment. Through its reflection of the various Biblical visions, people would instil the virtues of doing well to others and therefore enhance the management of peace and probably security in the society. Apse of Sant Climent de Taull The Byzantine art also helped in managing peace and security in the society through its message. It involved artistic products produced during the Byzantine Empire. Most of them were created to depict the power of the Empire and the emperors in particular, which was shown through the way they could manage conflict in the empire and prevent enemies from attacking its people. The Byzantine Empire believed strongly in God and Jesus and thus the paintings of Jesus as the savior of mankind were common. The Christ Pantocrator for instance was a painting that presented the depiction of Christ. Jesus Christ according to the society was the savior and promoter of peace. The theme of peace and security management is not directly portrayed, but indeed, the Christian teachings advocated for these virtues, which were better portrayed through the work of art as in the case of Jesus Christ Pantocrator painting. Jesus Christ Pantocrator painting Like any other religion, Buddhism is a religion that promotes good virtues in the society including living peacefully among people. Some pieces of Buddhist art were used to promote the management of peace and security in the society. The artistic practices in this case are completely influenced by Buddhism. A good example of effort to manage peace though victorious war achievement is depicted in the Heroic gesture of the Bodhisattva piece of art. Heroic gesture of the Bodhisattva piece of art This artistic sculpture is part of the Greco-Buddhist art and combines Greek and Indian traditions. Wars in ancient times were mainly meant to promote security to a given empire or kingdom. The victory of war is what seems to be a celebration in the above artwork. It passes a message to people that emerging victorious in war calls for celebration since security has been enhanced according to plans. Islamic art also promoted the theme of managing peace and security in the society in various ways. The commonest way to depict the need to manage peace and security in the society was artworks depicting scenes of war and related victories or even the depiction of leadership power. The Scene from the Khamsa of Nizami painting is a typical example of a piece of art used to depict such theme. Scene from the Khamsa of Nizami painting The Scene from the Khamsa of Nizami painting seems to show how a king is important to the society since he was known to make informed decision especially regarding the running of the kingdom, which involve peace management and ensuring that people have adequate security. Death of the king in such kingdom would lead to turmoil and loss of peace and security and thus guarding the king was one of the topmost steps of promoting peace and security in the society. The Early Medieval art was also another form of art in which some of the works portrays the theme of peace and security in managing violence and conflict in a turbulent world. The turbulence of aspect of historical societies was cause by low civilization among people. The king was thus depicted as the only source of peace and a feeling of security among citizens. People could only become civilized through learning and that in the Early Medieval period, the book was the new way of promoting peace and security. Through it people could learn many things including peace promotion and remaining united by learning the Bible. The art of the book painting communicates this message. The Art of the Book Gothic art, which emerged a bit later in history, also promoted the theme of peace and security in various ways. The Adoration of the Magi, for example, is a piece of art based on the Christian faith that depicted Jesus Nativity in art. In this piece of art, the three Magi were represented as kings. These kings had found Jesus specifically by following a star. Recognizing Jesus as the King of Kings, the three kings had to unite to reach Him. Unity comes out a message of peace between the kings, which is a big inspiration to the society especially given the distances held between kingdoms in historic times. Jesus on the other hand is religiously referred to the King of Peace in the Bible, which mean He is the center of focus in the art. Gothic style is used to create beauty in the message and facilitate it use in the Strasbourg Cathedral Church. Gothic Style of Adoration of the Magi Gothic style of art was also common in the 14th century. Its use was mainly in religion especially Christianity. A meaningful example is the Gothic art of Cristo de La Laguna. The Gothic piece of art is religious in context and shows Jesus on the Cross. Jesus was believed to have been crucified in order to safe human kind from eternal suffering. To Christians, Jesus is the only source of peace in which whoever believes on the message from the scenes of the cross, he or she would have eternal peace. Jesus is the only security from the evil powers of Satan and through Him, people can live peacefully amongst one another. Gothic art of Cristo de La Laguna The Gothic art in this case involves an image representing Jesus that has been considered highly important on the Canary Islands. It is essential a part of Spanish religious sculptures taken to be of the highest possible artistic value. The Gothic style of art used enhances the artistic value. Works Cited Kleiner, Fred S. Gardners Art Through the Ages (Art 1 Santa Monica College). 2010. Print. 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