Ancient art - Research Paper Example

?Ancient Artistic Issue Table of Contents Introduction 3 Thesis ment 3 Cycladic Art: A Storehouse of Symbolic Artifices 4 Conclusion 8 References 9 Introduction Ancient Greek art and architecture is marvellous and ephemeral from the aspect of its unparallel and indelible creativity. Ancient art of the Aegean is generally referred to the art that had evolved within the Grecian lands surrounded by the islands which fall within the Grecian sea. It is quite worthy to be mentioned in this context that Aegean art is a form of Mycenaean art. The Aegean art is famous for some of its iconic produces like masks made of gold and imagery that were war faring. The power of the Aegean art is so stark that it retells and intrigues its pattern even in the contemporary style of art. It would be quite quintessential therefore to comprehend the timeless motifs and themes of this ancient form of art, which itself is so enigmatic that it has been continually able to influence the artists irrespective of any barrier of time or territory. Not only the art and architecture of the Aegean period has evoked a stark sense of bafflement, but it also has laid the foundation of the geniuses implemented in the field of architecture, inherent in the future Roman architectural dynamics1. Thesis Statement For centuries, the art of the Aegean period has created enigma and illusion. However, a close reading of the evolutionary processes of the art and sculptors evolved during Cycladic period in the Aegean civilization hints at its motifs and themes that evolved out of time. This essay intends to focus on the motifs and themes inherent in the structural dynamics and vibrant artifice of the Cycladic art during Aegean period. The paper also throws light on the strong base of the dynamics traced in the art of the Aegean period inherent in the Cycladic art of the time clearly which lay the founding stone of future development of geniuses of Roman architecture and modern art. Cycladic Art: A Storehouse of Symbolic Artifices Researchers say that Aegean art started gaining its fame and flourished between 3000 to 1100 B.C.E. The Aegean civilization that flourished in and around the Grecian Islands could be divided into three different cultures. The first evolution of the cultural activities can be traced around 3000 to 1600 B.C.E. The kind of art and culture that developed during this phase came to be known by the name of Cycladic Art. The next phase initiated around 1900 B.C.E. and continued its influence till 1375 B.C.E. This phase was known by the name of Minoan Art. The last cultural phase of the civilization was known by the name of Mycenaean Art and it developed and flourished between 1400 to 1100 B.C.E2. Since the evolution and unveiling of the Aegean civilisation and culture, the Aegean art has evolved out as a subject of obscurity. The first phase of the artistic movement or the trends inherent in the Cycladic art of the Aegean period are based on simple geometrical shapes. The prototype figurine of the Cycladic period represents a nude woman with a position where they fold their arms across their abdomen. These kinds of woman figurine have been widely discovered in graves and settlements equally. The sizes of the figures have also varied widely from few inches to almost life-like sizes which depict the form of human body in a highly schematic manner. Simple triangles, large in size, dominate the form. The body of the idol projects out from the large head and is marked by broad shoulders to a decreasing width resulting in tiny feet. The pubis is present within the body in an incised form and also appears triangular in shape. For ages, there have been intense assumptions regarding the use of schematic large triangles in the female body and the use of the nude figurine for depicting a deceased person, based on the fact that many such Cycladic statues were discovered from graves. Even, the male statues as one discovered from the graves and settlements, appear with simple geometric shapes. Here also a typified figurine or form is noticed. Male statutes appear in a sitting posture and are depicted as musicians playing a Lyre for his self amusement or to entertain the deceased or people from after life is a subject of elusion till date. The same is also applicable for the nude female sculptor. However, in the illustrated and enlightened book by Helen Gardner and Fred S. Kleiner, it is potently discussed that the anonymous sculptors of the Cycladic period did take some effort to locate pertinently the breasts and the pubis area. Some figures also laid stress upon the slight swelling around the belly area, as evident in the Syros statue hints at the fact of pregnancy. Shades of paints on some Cycladic statues also indicate that some portions of these figurines were coloured. Therefore, a strong hint towards the depiction of women figure as the symbol of fertility or goddess of life is evident3. Cycladic Period: Cycladic Idol from Amrogos, Artist Unknown, 2500-1100 B.C. Marble. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford4 The materials used for making sculptors during the Cycladic period are mostly marbles. The rationale for the sculptors for opting marble as the medium of artifices expression is the reason inherent in the availability of abundant marble in the Aegean island especially in the Naxos and Paros areas. The collectors of the early Cycladic statuettes admire the striking abstract form present in the figurine of the early Cycladic period. The amazing abstract form and the sleek and exquisite designs craved upon the white marble almost like alabaster are not less than a beautifully crafted and fabricated tapestry upon the shoulders of a monarchial majesty. The forms which have recurred in the modern art time and again seem to have evoked from the Cycladic art and sculptors of the Aegean period5. Moreover, a noteworthy dimension of the Cycladic art is the fact that the artifices evolved during the early Cycladic period and Cycladic period of the Aegean civilization were not solely woman centric. Male figures and especially the seated musician figurines appear in the Cycladic art elaborately. Archeologists have named them, “Lyre Player from Keros”. Another important and notable structure in the male figurine of the Cycladic art is the impression or echoing figure of a chair or chair like pedestal upon which the musician is seated. The same allusive feeling pervades the statue of the seated mal musician as is associated with the female figurine of the Cycladic art. There are myriad contentions regarding the male musician figure of the Cycladic art. Certain historians believe that the musician is playing for the deceased and the comfort of the soul in the afterlife. The other school of thought that is associated with the statue of the “Lyre Player from Keros” finds the musician playing for the amusements of the living people. The geometric shapes are equally important capturing in the statue of the musician as well. Large flat planes as present in the female figure of the time are also noticed in this context. Still the figurines are not all about simple geometry. If one notices the figure of the lyre player from a close contour, there can be found the sound–box of the harp or the ornamented head of the instrument which has a duck-bill or swan-head. Interestingly, the historians have found the traces of the animal headed instruments in the Mesopotamian civilization which was a contemporary civilization of the Aegean period6. Furthermore, there are instances where the statue of the lyre player and the woman with her hands across the abdomen were both found in a woman’s grave. This fact indicates that the lyre player is not the images of a deceased. Also, with this invention the female figurine perfectly as a statue of a dead woman gets minimized simultaneously. Possibility is that the man might be entertaining the woman who is dead rather than accompanying and entertaining her image. However, a lack of written documentation or any traces of the dates have compelled the historians to comprehend the structures of the Cycladic art belonging to prehistoric period mostly. This is the reason also for which the historians treat the same figure and same form of the sculptors from different perspectives and contexts7. Male Lyre Player From Keros Source: 3 Conclusion Conclusively, it can be affirmed that a steady and thorough introspection of the art motifs, themes and schematic developments of the art and sculptors in the Cycladic period of the Aegean civilization marks a very categorical reason associated with the developments and inventions that took place in the particular period of the era. None of the aspects when judged from the close contour appeared elusive or enigmatic. To put it in other words, every period had its distinct art motifs and themes which were guided by various inventions and developments of the human settlements in and around the Grecian islands. References Budin, Stephanie Lynn. The Ancient Greeks: An Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2009. Cohen, George M. The Essentials of Art History. Research & Education Assoc., 1995. Creese, David E. “The Origin of The Tortoise-Shell Lyre.” Dalhousie University (1997):1-104. Gardner, Helen and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner's Art through the Ages: The Western Perspective, Volume 1. Cengage Learning, 2010. Lawergren, Bo. A “"Cycladic" Harpist In The Metropolitan Museum Of Art.” Notes in the History of Art 20.1 (2000): 2-9. Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York. N.Y.). Greek Art of the Aegean Islands: An Exhibition/D0771P. Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications, 1979. Mertens, Joan R. “Some Long Thoughts on Early Cycladic Sculpture.” Metropolitan Museum Journal 33 (1998): 7-22. Read More