Art History 1
Singh, Satendra Satyam
Writing Assignment 1, Topic 1
Looking through the history of depiction of human figure yields several similarities and differences in the development of depicting the human form throughout the art represented from the Ancient Near East, Egypt, Aegean, and Greek cultures. Humans throughout the ages have been depicted time and time again; these representations share several similarities and differences.
The people of the Paleolithic Ages survived through a nomadic lifestyle. To successfully survive they were consistently on the move, usually following the migrations of animals, as that was a primary food source. When they did have the luxury of abandoning the nomadic lifestyle they lived mostly in caves, …show more content…
Technology ranging from tools and weaponry became more advanced. One such advancement was the invention of the potter’s wheel and the creation of pottery. Through these significant improvements based in education, culture, and technology the quality of life vastly increased in comparison to the Paleolithic period. With a steady supply of food based off grain and livestock, people had much more time to devote to culture and technology. This change in lifestyle was represented in the art created, especially the appearance of the human figure in every possible setting. During the Paleolithic period, animals were most commonly depicted and humans infrequently at best. During the Neolithic Period however, stories began to be told and artists began to represent human figures especially as composites of frontal and profile views. Drawings also increased in realism. For example the differences between “The Woman of Willendorf” (Figure 1-5) in the Paleolithic Period versus “The Human Figure from Ain Ghazal”(Figure 1-15) in the Neolithic Period are vast. For one, Figure 1-15 has clearly recognizable facial features such as eyes, ears, and a nose while Figure 1-5 does not. Secondly the sex of the figure is …show more content…
It has been said that the Greeks made their divine beings into people and their people into divine beings. The idea of the perfect individual turned into the Greek ideal and the depiction of beautiful people turned into the focus of a significant number of the best Greek artists. Amid the eighth century BCE, the human figure came back to Greek craftsmanship not in monumental statuary, which was exceedingly uncommon even in Bronze Age Greece, yet in little bronze puppets and in artistic creations on fired pots. As per one Greek writer, Daedalus utilized the same compositional examples for his statues as the Egyptians utilized for theirs, and the first truly amazing stone statues of the Greeks take after nearly the standard Egyptian design. One of the most punctual samples of life-size statuary in Greece is the marble kouros (Fig. 5-8). This Greek kouros copies the stance of Egyptian statues. In both Egypt and Greece, the figure is inflexibly frontal with the left foot progressed marginally. The arms are held alongside the body, and the clench hands are gripped with the thumbs forward. The New York kouros, in the same way as most Egyptian statues, was likewise a funerary statue. It remained over a grave in the farmland some place close
Singh, Satendra Satyam
Writing Assignment 1, Topic 1
Looking through the history of depiction of human figure yields several similarities and differences in the development of depicting the human form throughout the art represented from the Ancient Near East, Egypt, Aegean, and Greek cultures. Humans throughout the ages have been depicted time and time again; these representations share several similarities and differences.
The people of the Paleolithic Ages survived through a nomadic lifestyle. To successfully survive they were consistently on the move, usually following the migrations of animals, as that was a primary food source. When they did have the luxury of abandoning the nomadic lifestyle they lived mostly in caves, …show more content…
Technology ranging from tools and weaponry became more advanced. One such advancement was the invention of the potter’s wheel and the creation of pottery. Through these significant improvements based in education, culture, and technology the quality of life vastly increased in comparison to the Paleolithic period. With a steady supply of food based off grain and livestock, people had much more time to devote to culture and technology. This change in lifestyle was represented in the art created, especially the appearance of the human figure in every possible setting. During the Paleolithic period, animals were most commonly depicted and humans infrequently at best. During the Neolithic Period however, stories began to be told and artists began to represent human figures especially as composites of frontal and profile views. Drawings also increased in realism. For example the differences between “The Woman of Willendorf” (Figure 1-5) in the Paleolithic Period versus “The Human Figure from Ain Ghazal”(Figure 1-15) in the Neolithic Period are vast. For one, Figure 1-15 has clearly recognizable facial features such as eyes, ears, and a nose while Figure 1-5 does not. Secondly the sex of the figure is …show more content…
It has been said that the Greeks made their divine beings into people and their people into divine beings. The idea of the perfect individual turned into the Greek ideal and the depiction of beautiful people turned into the focus of a significant number of the best Greek artists. Amid the eighth century BCE, the human figure came back to Greek craftsmanship not in monumental statuary, which was exceedingly uncommon even in Bronze Age Greece, yet in little bronze puppets and in artistic creations on fired pots. As per one Greek writer, Daedalus utilized the same compositional examples for his statues as the Egyptians utilized for theirs, and the first truly amazing stone statues of the Greeks take after nearly the standard Egyptian design. One of the most punctual samples of life-size statuary in Greece is the marble kouros (Fig. 5-8). This Greek kouros copies the stance of Egyptian statues. In both Egypt and Greece, the figure is inflexibly frontal with the left foot progressed marginally. The arms are held alongside the body, and the clench hands are gripped with the thumbs forward. The New York kouros, in the same way as most Egyptian statues, was likewise a funerary statue. It remained over a grave in the farmland some place close