Art As A Reflection Of Anciant Civilization free essay sample

Essay, Research Paper Art as Reflection of Anciant Civilization Ancient Egytian and Greek sociaties both made important parts to western civilisation, specificaly in the countries of political relations and societal construction. The political system of antient Egypt was chiefly based on the religios belife that the Pharoah was a godly entity, while Grecian political relations were based in a democratic system that valued persons in a alone manner. The poitical and societal advancments of both Greek and Egyption civilisations are best reflected in the promotion of each civilizations artwork. In the early land of the Egyption civilisation the Pharoah rulled as a God-King and dictated the faith and Torahs of the land. He promoted a polytheistic faith that was used to explicate natural phinaminans and life after decease. Accourding to this faith all Egyptions non merely the opinion category were offered the hope of endurance in the following universe, as a wages for a good life in the present universe. The thought of a good life is defined by the fans accomplisments in the eyes of Osiris? the justice of the dead? . Funeral services were divised to exeplify these belifes and aid to guid the spirit of the dead into the hereafter ( Cunningham and Reich, 6 ) . The carinate construction of this Thocracy greatly limited individuality in all facet of life, but most significantly art. The art of the Early land was prodominetly bassed on the deity of the Pharoh, and his statuse in sociaty. The most famuse illustration of the Theocracies influance on art would be the Great Spinx and the Pyramids of Chefren. These emence plants of art were created to demo the importance and godly power of the Pharoah, every bit good as, to function as a burial grave. The Sphix itself is sculped with great percisian and close attension was paid to the basic anatimy of the human face, but the fetures of the Pharoah are idialize. ? It is a portiat non of an single but of the construct of deity? ( Cunningham and Reich, 9 ) . The king of beasts organic structure, falcon headgear and transendental stare of the Sphinx shows a certain composure and enigma, that encapsalates the ideal flawlessness of the ideal flawlessness of the Pharoah. In the Middle Kindom Akhenaton came to power and changed the religius construction of Egypt. He belived in a monotheistic system that placed all religion in one God, Aton-Ra. Akhenaton did non dipict himself as an all powerfull God-King, but a courier through which Aton-Ra radius ( qtd. Picco ) . The alterations in the function of the Pharoah, dramaticaly changed the art of the clip. Art began to dipict more physical homo features, and less godly idialism. A rock relife that shows the royal twosome and their three kids sitting under the rise of the Sun God is a good illustration of this alteration. No thirster is the Pharoah dipicted as the most of import figure in Egyption art, and for the first clip other people are shown on the same degree as the Pharoah ( qtd. Picco ) . This monothiestic reign strongly conflicted with the involvement of the priests, ? who had a vested involvement in continuing the old polytheistic traditions? ( Conningham and Reich, 11 ) . Directly following his decease Akhenatons seccessors eched his name from the historical memorials and brought back the traditional polytheistic faith ( Conningham and Reich, 11 ) . By the terminal of the New Kingdom art was back to the criterions of the Old Kingdom. Large pyramids and high relife sculpture that idialized the deity and illustriousness of the Pharoahs were one time angain built, and the monotheistic art of the late Middle Kingdom was forgotten. The influance of this poleithistic rleigion became so strong, that even direct contact with busying civilizations did non consequence the art of the New Kingdom ( Conningham and Reich, 12 ) . Grecian civilisation placed much more importance on persons, instead than on a individual male monarch or God. Greace was broken up into City States and ruled by a figure of politision, much like our present consept of democrocy. The faith of the clip was poleithistic, but because of the seperation of the City States, it neer developed the construction of the preceading Egyptian faith. The Greaks? used their faith to light their ain lives, instead than to give them divine guidance. ? ? They turned to art and literiture, instead than supplication, as a agency of seeking to detect themselves? ( Conningham and Reich, 36-37 ) . This enphicis on ego spawned new beliefs about adult males order in the existence. Contrairy to Egyptian belifes, the Greeks did non see their Supreme beings as the centre existence, and belived that they as worlds had some controle over their ain fate ( Conningham and Reich, 39 ) . The freedom to research the ego allowed the Greeks to do progresss in mathmatics, doctrine, and art. The progresss in doctrine and mathematics had direct influance on the art of the clip. This is first seen in the Protogeometric and Geometric art of the first three centuries of Grecian civilisations. These alone manners show a meticuluse order and persion that was non seen in any preciading period. As the domanint manner changed from Protogeometric to Geometric this order and persion was aplified. The populare? circle and semicirlce paterns were replaced by additive disigns, zigzags, trigons, diamonds, and meanders? ( Conningham and Reich, 40 ) . The increased involvement in order, seems to hold been a relfection of the Grecian captivation with nature, and adult males relationship to nature. This involvement in the order of nature, eventualy evolved into a fasonation with the human signifier and the thought of human flawlessness. Although early Grecian sculpture extremely resembled Egyptian cult statues, distict diferaces in design made Grecian sculpture unusually alone, and in consiquence showed a major difference in the Grecian societal stucture, and thier position the adult male. The first and likely most improtant diference of the Grecian sculptural disign was that the figures were chiefly shown as nude ( Conningham and Reich, 44 ) . This fluctuation on the basic Egyption sculpture shows a definet seperation from the stiff category system of Egypt. By taking apparels from the human figure the pure and true individuality of the topic is revealed. The topic is no longer seen as a merchandise of sociaty but as a creative activity of nature. This position of adult male was futher explored as Grecian idea continude to come on. This advancement is best shown by examing the alteration in stile from the Kouros, signifier Attica to the Kritios Boy, from Acropolis. The Kouros, from Attica showed a difinet atempt to revele the true human signifier. Although the sculpter put great attempt into portraing the existent musculus and bone construction to the topic, he still uses the transendental stare that was so popular in Egyption relife. As Grecian doctrine progressed, the thought the human flawlessness was farther explored in the humanistic disciplines. By 490 B.C. the Kritios Boy, from Acropolis was created and the perfect human signifier was found. The extemely accurate portrail of human anatimy and the pragmatism of the facial expretion, are exeplified by the relaxed stance of the figure. ? For the first clip in ancient art the figure is no longer looking or walking stright in front? ( Conningham and Reich, 44 ) . His caput a nd sholders are shifted to one side while his hips are shifted to the opposit side, and his wieght is placed on one leg. This was the most advanced and realistic portrail of a human figure in the history of anchient art, and is a direct contemplation of the Grecian involvement in the true nature of adult male. The alterations in art from the begining of Egyptian civilisation to the early phases of Grecian civilisation reflect the development of human idea and societal construction. The Egyption art of the Old Kindom portrade a carinate and powerful Theocracy that gave small room for personal interpritation of art. In the Middle Kingdom Akhenaton lead the first artistic revolution by presenting a new religius system. But after his decease, faith and art both reterned to the tradisional manner of the Old Kingdom. The Greeks nevertheless took on a new position of the celestial spheres in wich they put less accent on the Gods and more accent on the human spirit. This new belife system allowed the Greeks to interrupt away from a stiff societal construction and research the human signifier in it? s most pure province. Bibliography Culture and Valuess Lawrence Cunnincham, John Reich