The art that I choose to analyze is the votive figures of the Sumerian culture. They all appear very similar to one another as far as shape goes. They are all very cylinder-like and positioned in the same way. The women and men all look very similar. However the scale of each figure is different. There are some that are very large and others smaller. Their proportions all appear to pretty normal with the exception of the eyes. The eyes in all of the votive figures are extremely large in comparison with the rest of their features. They almost take on a cartoonish look. They are all textured to create depth in the sculpture. For example their hair and clothes are all sculpted to create lines and texture. The detail of each work is created with straight vertical lines on the skirts and horizontal ones on the beards and hair. The general lines of all of these figures are on a vertical axis. The hands however, create a horizontal line that almost looks like an intersection with their bodies. They are all created of the same material, limestone, so they have the same color of gray although when the light hits them it creates shadowed areas of light and dark.
The original purposes of these figures were for religious worship. They were created about 2900- 2600 BCE. Their eyes suggest a strong connected gaze with God. It was even said that the Sumerians were supposed to approach the gods with an attentive gaze, which explains the oversized staring eyes of the statues. They are also all standing in the same position, which tells us that may have been a stance of worship that they took when partaking in religious traditions. They are supposed to represent themselves as “one who offers prayers” and may have been set up in shrine to show their admiration to the gods.
No comments:
Post a Comment