Art History - Essay Example

Art History The purpose of this discussion is to analytically look at the twelfth century chapel which is adorned with virtual wall to wall murals entitled Santa Maria de Mur. This intricate and breathtaking chapel is truly a story in and of itself. The very center and upper portion of the chapel displays Jesus sitting on what appears to be a throne in Heaven. The posture assumed by Jesus is indicative of him after the resurrection and seated on a throne in Heaven. This can also be assumed since all of the background included in this work, is gold. The overall mural is so precisely speckled with form and activity, it is somewhat reminiscent of ancient Egyptian art. This is an appropriate comparison as both this piece and many pieces which have been found on the walls of pyramids, are symmetrical and surreal with extremely high activity which serves to tell a story. By symmetrical it is meant that the right and left side of the mural is equivalent in color scheme, size of characters as well as their placement. For example, Jesus, while centered in the upper quadrant of the piece, is accompanied on both sides by two angelic creatures. The similarities to Egyptian pyramid murals is also visible in the life-less qualities of the two dimensional people included in the work. An example of this is the depiction of feet. Jesus’ feet in this piece, are eerily small compared to the rest of his body which is a continuity of disproportion. The angels on either side of him, resemble deer with human-like faces with angel wings. On both sides of the lower portion of Jesus’ positioning, there appear to be votives held by ascending chains. It is not clear what they are but what is clear, is that they are in equal proportion on the left and the right sides of Jesus. This could be assimilated to weights and balances which often represent justice and fairness. These could also be the ornate objects used by priests in the catholic church, in many religious ceremonies, as a symbolic act. The middle to lower portion of the piece is marked by 12 or so individuals with glowing halos above their heads. Certainly this may be and is most likely, the 12 apostles of Christ. They appear to be glorified similarly to Christ but certainly not to the same extent. They appear below Christ and the angels which makes sense within the natural order of Christian belief and Biblical ideology. In this same portion of the mural, below the throne of Christ, there are what appear to be two windows or doors, which are each guarded or inclusive of a small, non threatening figure. The center of this portion of the piece is marked by a door which is narrowly opened and also guarded. This is obviously symbolic for the Bible’s notorious admonition that the way to Heaven is narrow while the path of sin is wide. The 2 doors on the either side of the narrow door way, are first of all, more numerous than the middle door and are opened up widely as opposed to the narrow opening of the third door. The two side doors also appear to be opened to nothingness or darkness while the door in the middle is opened to a light blue, immediately reminding one of the blue skies which we see as mortals, all the time. The bottom portion of the mural, is not as detailed and ornate as the rest of the work. In fact, the details and attention to clear, visual imagery ar most heavily present in the depiction of Jesus; but then fade slightly as one’s eye moves down through the piece. This is true of character size, color of clothing, facial details and location with in the piece. Of course, Christ is the center of the piece as it lends a preachy message of Christian doctrine. Christ is framed within the picture through decorative borders of blue and gold while his immediate background is laced with large, and detailed stars. The stars are in fact, present in other portions of the piece but not nearly as large and intricate as the one’s behind and to both sides of Jesus. The heaviest use of blue is the robes worn by Jesus. It is typically blue which is indicative of royalty, especially in the time period in which this piece was created. Jesus’ robes are blue on blue, lighter on dark and allow a dit of depth or dimension to accompany Christ which is certainly not present in the rest of the wok. Though Jesus is quite disproportionate in this piece, he is still tremendously dominant in the piece and is given the most artistic favor over all the other imagery which is simultaneously taking place. Historically, it is said that this mural depicts Christ and the 4 evangelists. Tere is no way to clearly identify the individuals in this piece beyond Christ himself and the 4 angels. Clearly, the other figures n the piece are not given a presence depicting autonomy. This is again, most likely the artist utilizing artistic license to purposely illustrate the royalty or majesty of Christ against a backdrop of mortals. Comparison and Contrast of Polyleitos: Marble Head of Hermes and Marble Portrait of a Bald Man When taking a look at the work entitled Polykleitos, one can observe the raw and sensual qualities for which Greek art is famous. This piece is a depiction of a young man who possesses ample proportions and symmetry. This piece was erected in a time and place, where glorification of the male form was highly promoted. Sexual freedom and creativity also flourished making this particular time period in Roman history, part of the infamous lore of Greek-Roman art. This piece illustrates virtually each and every characteristic that one would attribute to the essence of being male. The statue is chiseled to show ample muscle development from a lean and wash board like stomach to the curves of the upper muscles in the arms. The marble male depicted in this statue, is complete with curly but short hair, a squared jaw line lending facial features that appear to be somewhat carved. The man depicted here is not ashamed of his nakedness and lives in an eternal blank stare off to the side and into the distance. Though this piece is quite old, it is an interesting twist that a male is carved with perfect proportions in such a seductive manner while woman of the present are more readily placed into body types and then objectified. The Republican Marble Portrait of Bald Man is quite a contrast to the piece which has just been discussed. This piece first of all, is only a head whereas the Polykleitos is an entire sculpture of a male body. This particular portrait is indeed, a depiction of a bald man but also of a man who appears pompous, unhappy and somewhat desolate. He is not teasing hi audience eternally with the same distant but complacent look which can be found on the face of the Polykleitos. The head of the bald man is void of the same chiseled and even multi dimensional qualities which are present in the statue of Polykleitos. Certainly, in both these cases, we are without color to lend an idea as to the tone or context to which one should understand these two works by. Both are carved from marble and are therefore merely a generic, chalky color. The ability to create facial dimension and character is strongly propelled by breadth and depth in the face of the individual one is attempting to represent. The Polykleitos is somehow given a life-like quality due to the natural stance taken by the man and the distant manner in which he seems to settle his gaze into the future. This is very different from the marble depiction of a bald man. The bald man seems less human and less life-like than the Polykleitos. He does exhibit a pompous and negative tone but this is of course, a negative variety of human emotion therefore making it somewhat easier to discount him as non-life like or perhaps never having existed even as a model for the piece’s creator. The nature of the Republican statue (Marble Portrait of a Bald Man) is very much in opposition to the relaxed and sensual nature of Greek Roman art which is notoriously linked to the Polykleitos and other famous, ancient carvings and depictions of male sexuality, youth and beauty. The Polykleitos may in fact, be the first piece of homosexual art to have made it through millennia of time and change only to be a priceless artifact in today’s time. This piece says so much about the time period in the Roman Empire and the highly diverse life styles which were obviously embraced at the time. This work also indicates that perhaps the time of Christ, homosexuality was revered and openly discussed with little discrimination. It is likely that if there were such ideas as the ones which exist today, then statues such as this along with many other pieces of ancient art with similar representation, would not have existed and certainly would not have been preserved for thousands of years. The contrasting piece which we are calling Marble Portrait of a Bald Man lacks much of the character given to the Polykleitos. The head is merely a life-less stone version of an unattractive and seemingly angry individual. This piece has also survived the test of time as has the Polykleitos but still manages to lag in resonating the same character such as resonated by the nude male statue. Both of these sculptures are certainly shrouded in meaning and since they both date back thousands of years, it is difficult to know what each one has been used to represent. The connotations of the Polykleitos today, may be entirely different from the connotations it carried centuries ago. Perhaps each generation has been able to look at these timeless pieces of art in order to gleam a relevant and even meaningful statement. Perhaps in the next few centuries or millennia, future generations will see both sculptures significantly different than we may see it today in the present. Read More