Roman Art Vs. Christian Art

The Gemma Augustea was created in the first century CE which was largely defined by the extreme skill of art and architecture. It is a large onyx cameo with two registers that glorify the emperor, Augustus, after he defeated the barbarians. It also portrays Tiberius, who was the adopted son of Augustus, as a strong and powerful new ruler who was heir to the throne. The Roman’s style was largely inspired by the Greeks and they looked back for inspiration to create their own works. For example, the idealized and perfectly proportioned figures stems from the Greeks own artistic principles. They also possess the action of the classical Greek period. However the Roman aspect of their famous portraiture is also very prominent in this piece. The faces of the figures are not flawless, but show their true character and evoke emotion from their expression. Much of the Romans artwork glorifies the rulers so much that they have a godlike appearance. In this particular piece, the top register shows that Augustus even assumes the position of Jupiter who is the king of the gods and has an eagle at his feet, also symbolic of Jupiter. The rounded circle by his head shows the symbol for Capricorn, which was his zodiac. Tiberius is placed at the far left, stepping off the chariot after defeating the Germans. On the bottom register it shows Roman soldiers raising their enemy’s armor to show their triumph and the barbarians are tied up and sitting on the ground.

The marble sculpted Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus is an early Christian artwork dating back to 359 CE. Like the Gemme Augustea, it is packed with many elaborate figural scenes. The columns and entablatures that separate the registers and frames are very similar to classic Roman art and architecture. Each frame tells a story from the Hebrew Bible of a teaching or historical event of Christ and the Lord. On the top left Abraham is pictured after passing a test of faith and escaping the fate of having to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Another famous story is depicted on the bottom register, second to the left. An ashamed Adam and Eve stand next to each other with their heads turned away after they have just sinned by taking and eating the fruit from the tree in the middle of them. The conniving serpent is wrapped around it. Both the top and the bottom also have central focuses of Christ. At the top center there is Christ serving as the Roman Emperor and giving out scrolls of his word to Peter and Paul who stand on either side of him. It is shown in this image that he is the ruler of the cosmos. On the bottom it shows Jesus entering the sacred land of Jerusalem like an emperor would enter his own land. Comparing the skill of early Christian art to the Roman art that preceded it, it is quite clear that the artists lost the skill set that had before been mastered. Although this piece is very detailed and intricate, the figures do not appear as idealized or perfectly proportioned as they did before. It is also much less expressive when compared to the action filled classical art and emotional Roman portraits.

            It is clear when studying Christian artwork that they had much influence from their earlier Roman ancestors. However the Romans were often said to have taken their inspiration from the even earlier Greeks. New cultures that emerge are always founded upon the past and without that inspiration to create new works of art, there would be a constant cycle of beginning from nothing. The biggest differences in the works of the Romans and Christians were the subject matter. The Romans most often centered their works on glorifying a victorious emperor just as the Gemma Augustea does to rulers Augustus and Tiberius. They looked to their historical past to create works of art that accredited certain individuals for paving the way for them. While before the only real religious references in works of art were the many mythological gods, the Christian brought upon this new idea of religion and incorporated it much more into their work. Most of the stories in Christian art are from the Hebrew Bible and show Christ as the ruler instead of glorifying an emperor. The Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus shows many Biblical stories including Abraham and his test of faith, Daniel being saved by God from the lions, and Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Christian artists used the Roman’s pagan past and applied it to Christian principles using the Bible as their focus instead of rulers. They also set up their pieces very similarly by having multiple registers to depict different scenes. Although there were much more marble and stone sculptures in the Roman days, some did exist in the Christian era like the sarcophagus. There are several from the Roman period that were elaborately decorated and the Christians carried this out. 

Our Parthenon Project

Greek Pottery: Neck-amphora

This amphora was created by the artist Exekias in around 540 BCE and used as an all-purpose storage jar. It is a black figure piece, which means that glaze was applied to the people and shapes and when fired, the glazed areas would turn black and the unfinished areas would be reddish orange. They would later finish the piece by detailing the objects and people and adding white and red glaze in certain areas over the figures. This really brings out the contrast of color and draws the eye in to the picture on the belly of the vase.

This particular piece is very detailed and decorated in almost every inch of the pot. It portrays a wedding scene with two people in the carriage that are being pulled by two horses. There are also three more figures in the picture; a woman facing the chariot, a man walking behind the horses, and a small scaled man leading the horses. The reverse side is very similar to this. It is unknown if this is a depiction of a marriage of gods or just regular people. It seems so divine and ornate that it could easily be applied to a union of gods.

Pattern and repetition are also used on the top and bottom of the amphora. On the top there is a repeated floral pattern on the neck and a battle scene surrounding the top of the vase. On the bottom there are repeated images of lotus flowers and the Greek keys. The work as a whole is very symmetrical and balanced by color and visual weight of the figures versus ground. 

The Modern Egyptian

The Modern Egyptian Link

The Dying Warrior

              The work I chose to write about this week is the Dying Warrior that we studied in class. The warriors are wounded on the ground and it appears that they are struggling to get up even though their wounds are beyond repair. Even though they are hurt so badly they still seem to appear to balance gracefully on their sides. On their faces there is a small smile known as the archaic smile that makes them look content even in near death. The texture of the skin is so much more realistic than ever before. It almost looks like silk because it’s so smooth. Also, the facial features and body types are much more proportional to real life. The materials used were a hard stone or marble. There are also many strong diagonal lines in these pieces that represent motion and movement.

            The sculptures come from Athena in around 490 BCE. They were made to be put on the west pediment of the Temple of Aphaia. It represents the struggles of ancient Greek and a tribute to the men lost in war. Since then they were taken down and are now seen as sculptures on their own. However at the time they were used to decorate architecture and to communicate a message of war and history to the people.

           

             

Art Brings Hope to Haiti

The article I read was about how art is being used in Haiti to bring up the spirits of those affected by the earthquake at the beginning of the year. It’s being used as a healing power and a therapy to convey emotions to express themselves. People of all ages are taking part in this process to take the focus off the devastation and put their energy into something hopeful and uplifting. Right now they are in between receiving help and financial aid so it’s a difficult time and art therapy is needed even more because of this.

            Personally, I really love the idea that they are using art as a form of healing and bringing it into a situation where so much as been lost. I think it sends across a powerful message. It also gives the people of Haiti a chance to respond and react to this natural disaster and get their feelings out in a beautiful format. The point is proven by giving many examples of people and colleges that are currently practicing this technique. In class we have studied art that was made for all kinds of purposes. The theme for these pieces of work seems to be hope and inspiration in an otherwise dark time.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/1013/Art-lifts-hope-in-Haiti

Egypt in the Most Unusual Places!

From the outside of the church I thought very little of how it differed from any other church, especially since it is so tightly squeezed onto a city block, it is almost hard to even notice. The site was very cramped because it is located in the heart of downtown in a pretty big city. However as soon as we walked in I was immediately taken by surprise. When I think of a Protestant church, I think of a wide open space, with wooden pews, stained class windows, and statues by the alter. The Downtown Presbyterian Church had all of that, just not at all as how I would have imaged it. Every aspect of the church was so engulfed in ancient Egyptian art and culture and thought out so carefully. The stained glass windows at this church were represented by the sandy grounds of Egypt and the papyrus plants, which symbolized their culture. The colors and designs on every corner were consistent with the Egyptian theme. It was very well thought out and executed to get a certain message across.

            

The walls were so brightly colored and intricately decorated with Egyptian symbols and inspired art. The main colors were deep reds, browns and teal. Even the cross at the front of the church was themed Egyptian in pattern and in color.

            The space in it felt massive and open like I’m used to feeling in churches, but the walls and how they were painted made me perceive it differently. The walls were decorated just like the Great Temple at Karnak with the many massive columns decorated with papyrus leaves at the top. In the church however, there was one row of columns and then the rest were just painted on to make it look like there was much more depth in the room then there really was. The space seemed so massive and made me feel so small in comparison. The ceiling imitated light and the sky. It was just you were looking up in a temple and could see the clouds rolling over and the bright sky which was much lighter than the rest of the church. 

 

     

    The materials that I mainly saw used were wood for the pews and concrete for the exterior. The interior was created to look as if it was made of stone and decorated to impersonate what the actual walls of an Egyptian temple. There was a definite rhythm as well throughout the church. The designs created a constant pattern all around the walls. Also the repeated images of the stained glass windows also gave the church some rhythm. A couple of distinctive features I noticed were the use of the symbol of Ra, the Egyptian sun god and the Egyptian crosses.

            I didn’t really talk to my group as a whole, but I did talk to members of it here and there. I think everyone generally had a similar reaction and were taken aback by the extensive theme and decoration of Egypt in a modern day Presbyterian Church.