chapter 8: mortality and immortality

Coca Pod Coffin

Kane Kwei (Ghana)

1970s

wood and enamel paint

• coffin for coca tree farmer; memorialized farmer's life's work

• the artist’s coffins are designed to reflect the work/values of the deceased + honor them

Colossal Statue of Constantine (fragments)

330 CE

Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome

• Constantine: 1st Roman emperor to legalize Christianity

Newgrange

County Meath, Ireland

3200 BCE (Neolithic)

• mound for winter solstice: sunlight radiates through passage → illuminates patterned stone in burial chamber

• light trick only works for 2 weeks near winter solstice, in the morning

Great Pyramids (Giza)

Menkaure, Khafre, Khufu (left to right)

~2500 BCE

• tombs for pharaohs believed to be sons of Ra (sun god); pyramids are oriented to sun

• old, large, influential in style; artificial mountains on flat plane

  • small interior chambers; were robbed shortly after they were sealed

  • pharaohs stopped building big tombs to stop grave robbing; later rulers were buried in chambers cut into sides of mountains

purposes of tombs/commemorative art":

• express cultural ideas/values about death

• tie religion w/ ritual burials

• promote political/social intentions

• visually establish power

• guarantee honor, fame, glory

earliest tombs were shaped like:

hills or mountains

ex: Egyptians → pyramids = geometric mountains

others: grass-covered hills w/ hidden burial chambers

• mound graves = tied to natural phenomenon, like movement of the sun

Innermost Coffin of Tutankhamen

Thebes, Egypt

1325 BCE

gold inlaid w/ enamel and semiprecious stones

• wings of Horus surround coffin

• Tut holds insignia of his rank

• distinct eye makeup, false beard = power, striped head cloth = cobra head to frighten enemies

• Tut’s dad: Akhenaten

Egyptian beliefs about souls/afterlife:

ba = part of human soul in heart/abdomen; human-headed bird

• flies from body when one dies

• after 70 days of mummification (in sarcophagus), ba returns, hungry/thirsty

• tombs are built to sustain ba’s needs; furnishing, food, etc.

ka = mental part of human soul; 2 arms or figure representing double of personality

• dwells in lifelike statue of deceased, placed in tomb

statue & sarcophagus need to have strong likeness to the dead person, so the ba/ka can recognize their destinations

• mummified w/ natron = mineral mixture found in desert

Fowling Scene (Wall Painting from Tomb of Nebamun)

Thebes, Egypt

1400—1350 BCE

paint on dry plaster

• wall paintings/carvings recreate pleasure/labors of life

• shows Egyptian noble hunting along Nile

• patterns: Nile seasonal cycles, unchanging culture, vast desert

• noble shown in exalted manner: head, shoulders, legs, feet in profile; eyes and shoulders frontal

Mortuary Temple of Hatsheput

Deir el-Bahri, Egypt

1490-1460 BCE

• monument to Egypt's female pharaoh

• 200 statues of her; painted reliefs showing her divine birth, coronation, military victories, etc.

• after death, her portraits were defaced → records or her rule obscured

Sarcophagus with Reclining Couple

Etruria (Etruscan; Italy)

520 BCE

painted terracotta

• freestanding; wife & husband shown at same scale

• same scale = equal importance = Etruscan women had more rights than women in most other cultures

Etruscans

ancient people in Italy

buried dead in rows of earthen mounds furnished for afterlife, arranged along streets = necropolis

• several modest sized rooms, laid out like houses

• emphasized sociability/pleasures of living

• not grand monuments to powerful rulers like Egyptians

Banqueters and Musicians

Tomb of the Leopards (Etruscan)

380—470 BCE

• feasting, music, dancing

• banqueters recline on couches; servants bring them food/drink

Soldiers from Pit 1

Shaanxi, China (near the Tomb of Shi Huangdi)

221—206 BCE

painted ceramic

• one  of most extensive tombs ever constructed

• Ying Cheng: became ruler of Qin Dynasty in 259 BCE

  • subdued rival neighboring states → unified China → founded Qin dynasty (1st emperor)

  • 1974: uncovered 6000 clay soldiers guarding afterlife palace complex

Warrior, General

Shaanxi, China (near the Tomb of Shi Huangdi)

221—206 BCE

• bodies are standardized; frontal, stiff, anatomically simplified

• different faces; molds

• combo of standardized and handcrafted parts

• used to be painted; purple only found in China (artificial)

Mannequin dressed in replicas of some of objects found in Tomb 1, Royal Tombs of Sipán

Moche civilization, Peru

300 CE

• warrior-priest’s elaborate gear (high status)

• cloth covered w/ gilded platelets; shell beads, helmet, nose plate, crescent-shaped bells

• Peanut Necklace: gold, silver

• Moche society: rich vs. poor difference shows in difference in burials (quality)

Peanut Necklace (Royal Tombs of Sipán)

Moche civilization, Peru

300 CE

gold and silver

• 20 beads; 10 gold, 10 silver

• worn by warrior-priest; also buried w/ it

• peanut = ceremonial food/food of honor

Viking Ship

Oseberg Ship Burial, Norway

1800s

oak

• tomb of high-ranking woman; probably was private vessel of wealthy family

  • front carved like a snake

  • found in the ship: beds, carts , sledges; w/ carvings of imaginary birds/beassts

viking ship burial: bury dead by sending them out to sea or burning the ship w/ them on it

Grave Stele of Hegeso

Dipylon Cemetery (Athens, Greece)

410—400 BCE

marble

• servant brings jewelry to the deceased woman

1000—10 BCE: mound tombs replaced by funerary art/architecture

• became commemorative structures

• Greeks were 1st to develop commemorative funerary architecture

Funerary Relief of a Circus Official

Ostia (Vatican, Rome)

110—130 CE

marble

• working-class man at his job w/ family

• largest figure = official who died

• wife = far left (holding hands = marriage)

  • smaller, lesser status

  • wife on pedestal = died before him

• unflattering portraits: forehead wrinkles, protruding ears, drooping faces

styles of Roman family tombs/mausoleums:

built outside of city

• towers

• modified Greek temples

• diminutive Egyptian pyramids

• or combo of all

Romans: non-idealized

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Ravenna, Italy

425

• Christianity went from underground cult → became official religion in Rome = accepted in Rome in 313

• mausoleum was originally attached to a church

early Christian burials:

did burials instead of cremation

believed: body would resurrect → rejoin soul at end of time

catacombs: dug out of tufa

• around Rome

• sanctified places: resting place of martyrs

• where fugitives his from the Romans

• where Christian sermons were preached in secret

  • small rooms carved out of catacomb passageways = mortuary chapels

  • often plastered + painted

Baldacchino (St. Peter’s Basilica)

Gian Lorenzo Bernini

1624—1633 CE

gilded bronze

• tall bronze canopy over St. Peter’s tomb

• “baldacchino” = “tall canopy”

  • taller than 8 story building; looks like cloth canopies that covered tombs of early martyrs

  • new curving columns → Constantine columns in the old wooden Basilica

  • vine-covered twisting columns → support weightless-looking canopy

• the basilica was wooden and old; originally built over Simon Peter’s tomb; now there is a new one

Chapel of Henry VII

Westminster Abbey, London

1503—1519 CE

• English Perpendicular style = a variation of Gothic

• houses tombs of royalty: Henry VII + wife (Elizabeth of York) + built to honor uncle, Henry VI

• also houses statesmen, military leaders, artists, poets

• Christian church burials were periodically banned over the years bc tombs rapidly took over church interiors

  • rich still got buried in churches depending on how much they donated

  • poor/working class: buried outside in cemeteries/churchyards

Taj Mahal

Agra, India

1632—1654

• Islamic shrine; memorial to Shah Jahan’s wife, Mumtaz Mahal

  • ruler of Mughal Empire

• Islamic mausoleums = where wealthy/powerful were buried

• comparably ambitious w/ Baldacchino + Chapel of Henry VII

• garden divided into 4 squares by canals; canals = rivers of Paradise

• Taj Mahal = throne of Allah

  • compact, symmetrical, centrally planned/constructed

  • raised platform; 4 minarets

Reliquary Arm

Mosan (Belgium)

1230

silver over oak; bronze-gilt hand

• Christian reliquaries: remains of saints

Mbulu Ngulu (Reliquary Guardian Figure)

Kota region of Gabon

1800s—1900s

wood, metal

• African reliquaries: remains of venerated ancestors

• ancestors = honored bc they affect welfare of living

• reliquary = placed on a bag/basked that contained the skulls/long bones of the ancestors

  • helped protect the relics from evil

  • helped obtain food, health, fertility from ancestors

Père Lachaise Cemetery

Paris (outskirts)

1804

• paths; massive trees; families → elaborate structures w/ different styles

  • Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Gothic, modern, art nouveau

• urns, columns, obelisks = Romanticism

  • many famous people buried here → tourist attraction

cemeteries in 1700s—1800s in Europe were overcrowded/unhealthy/polluting

• civil authorities took control of burials away from churches → established big public suburban cemeteries (buried all religions)

Ophelia

John Everett Millais (England)

1852 (Victorian; Pre-Raphaelite)

oil on canvas

• same era as Paris Cemetery

• character in Shakespeare’s Hamlet; faints from grief → drowns

Día de Muertos (city fiesta detail)

Diego Rivera (Mexico)

1923

fresco

• the piece: political satire/ commentary

  • satirical dancing skeletons/skulls: priest, general, capitalist, laborer

Day of the Dead = social tradition; mix of Christian + Aztec beliefs

• publicly: marketplaces w/ parades/celebrations

• privately: altars for deceased, incense, photos, food

Helmet Mask (Tatanua)

Northern New Ireland, Papua New Guinea

1800s

wood, paint, natural fibers, Opercula shells

• malanggan: sculptures carved for memorial festivals to commemorate dead clan members

honoring the dead:

• stimulates local economy, creates stronger alliances among villages/clans

• includes initiation rites for young men

Mausoleum of Mao Zedong

Tiananmen Square, Beijing

late 1900s

• houses body of Communist revolution leader → asserts authority of Communist govt

• building = aligned w/ Forbidden City + Imperial Palace → Communist leader = rightful successors to the emperors

AIDS Memorial Quilt

The Names Project (display at the Mall in D.C.)

October 11, 1996

• commemorative work w/ personal + political impact

• individual 3×6 ft panels decorated by friends/family

• shows the huge impact of the AIDS epidemic + the toll it took on the US

  • huge collaborative work = commemorates loss of loved ones to deadly disease

Tribute in Light

John Bennett, Gustavo Bonevardi, Richard Nash Gould, Paul Myoda, Julain LaVerdiere, Paul Marantz

2002 (NYC, World Trade Center Memorial at Ground Zero)

high power lamps

• recreated every year on 9/11

• beams = hope/aspiration

  • transitory nature/vulnerabilty of earthly things

New World Trade Center, Reflecting Absence (part of National 9/11 Memorial + Museum)

Studio Daniel Libeskind