AP Art History 12-47 Form, Function, Content, Context

White Temple and its ziggurat

Form:

- mud brick

-collosal scale

-built to resemble mountain

Content:

- sloping walls, bent access (ramp up to enter the altar), 3 entrances

-mosaic surface

Function:

- temple that is a meeting place for humans and gods in the center of the city

-votive figures and dedicated to Anu the sky god

-top temple was only for royals or clergy to enter

Context:

- Uruk; Modern day Warka, Iraq

-Sumerian

- 3500-3000 BCE

Palette of King Narmer

Form:

-greywacke

-organized in registers

-hierarchic scale

-low relief, twisted perspective

Content:

-Front: Narmer (on large scale) looking on the beheaded bodies of his enemies wearing crown of lower Egypt, harnessed lionesses (symbol of unification), bull knowcking down a city fortress (Narmer knocking over enemies)

-Back: Hawk=Horus, Narmer wearing bowling pin crown (symbol of unification), stands barefoot (he is a divine king), palette for eye makeup, hieroglyphics

Function:

-represents the unification of Egypt and country's growth as a powerful nation

Context:

-found in temple of Horus

-Old Kingdom of Egypt

-3000 BCE

Statues of votive figures

Form:

- bilateral symmetry

- eyes exaggeration (beholding the divine)

-gypsum and black limestone

Content:

-the hands are placed in prayful gesture

- elite male and female figures

Function:

-placed in ziggurat to resemble the people that aren't allowed to be in the ziggurats

Context;

- found in the Square Temple of Eshunna (modern day Tell Asmur, Iraq)

-2700 BCE

Seated Scribe

Form:

-painted limestone

-crystal limestone eyes

Content:

-royal scribe

-depicted with sagging body (realistic not ideal), thin face

-holding tools to show he is ready to write

Function:

-shows that the scribe is important but not perfect like a pharoah

-made for tomb at Saqqara for the ka

Context:

-Saqqara, Egypt 2500 BCE

-found near tomb (funerary object)

Standard of Ur

Form:

- wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and black limestone

-mosaic

-hierarchic scale to show who was more important in society

-front shoulds, body in profile

Content:

-2 sides: war side and peace side

-war side: shows Sumerian king on larger scale descending from his chariot to inspect captives, lower register shows him riding over dead bodies in his chariot

-peace side: food brought to a banquet, ruler wears a kilt of wool (larger scale)

Function:

- shows the different classes of people

-democratic leadership

Context:

- found in the Royal Tombs at Ur (modern day Iraq)

- 2600-2400 BCE Sumerian

Great Pyramid (Menkaure, Khafre, Khufu) and Great Sphinx

Form:

-square base with 4 sloped sides (represents rays of sun)

-polished limestone

Content:

-pyramids with adjoining funerary complex; get to these through secret passageways

-Great Sphinx: human head with lion head

-descending order on West side of Nile

Function:

-maintain and protect tombs for eternity

-Great Sphinx: protecter the pyramids behind it

Context:

-built by Khufu, Khafre, and Menkuare (each temple name after)

-Khufu temple (oldest and largest)

-Old Kingdom- 2500BCE

-Giza, Egypt

Menkaura and queen

Form:

-greywacke

-under life-size

-symmetrical

-Egyptian style: one foot in front of the other

Content:

-king and queen same height, idealized figures

-pharaoh crown

-wife gives simple affectionate gesture

Function:

-temple sculpture

-symbolize his power and kingship

Context:

-Old Kingdom 2500 BCE

Code of Hammurabi

Form:

-black-stone stele with words carved in it

-basalt

-frontal shoulders, everything else profile

Content:

-divine law code carved in stone

-sun god, Shamash, giving laws to Hammurabi to be king

-god is bigger (hierarchic scale)

Function:

-tells us where the laws came from

-exercises justice and divine authority to carry out the law

Context:

- Babylon (modern day Iran)

-Susian (1760-1750 BCE)

Temple of Amun-Re and Hypostyle Hall

Form:

-cut sandstone and mud brick

-hypostyle hall

-symmetrical plan, axial plan

-open ceilings

-colossal columns with sunken relief

Content:

-134 sandstone columns

-inscriptions/images of kings and gods on walls and columns

-gates (suggesting old world to new world)

Function:

-used for festivities and prayer

-only priests and pharoahs allowed

Context:

-Karnak, near Luxor

-New Kingdom 1250 BCE

-East side of the Nile

Mortuary Temple of Hatsheput

Form:

-sandstone

-red granite statue

-built into rock cliff

Function:

-mortuary temple for Hatsheput but she wasn't buried there

-statue shows her power in male ways (beard and kneeling is priest-like gesture

Content:

-statue of Hatsheput kneeling: offering plants to Amen, the sun god

-ascent up to temple

-chapels and shrines dedicated to her

-hypostyle hall

Context:

-site specific

-across from Amun temple

Akhenaton, Neferiti, and three daughters

Form:

-sunken relief piece, limestone, hieroglyphics

Content:

-couple receiving blessing from Aten (the sun god-rays shown)

-show husband and wife seated with their children

-rays shining upon the family showing their divinity

Function:

-shows intimacy of the family

-conveys realistic fidgetiness of children

-state religious shift in evolving Egyptian art

Context:

-New Kingdom (Amarna) 1350 BCE

Tutankhamun's tomb (innermost coffin)

Form:

-gold

-inlay with stones and enamel

Content:

-crook and flail- symbols of Osiris

-cobra and vulture coming from headpiece- gods of Upper and Lower Egypt

-Son of Akhenaton

Function:

-sarcophagus (body inside)

-materials used represent the royal wealth (143 objects buried with him)

Context:

- New Kingdom 1325 BCE

Last Judgement of Hu-Nefer (page from Book of the Dead)

Form:

-painted papyrus scroll

-continuous narrative

Content:

-Hu-Nefer being lead to final judgement

-heart weighed on scale against Osiris (test to see if has a heavy heart)

-sin must weigh less than feather

-Hu-Nefer is accepted into afterlife

Function:

-guide people to the afterlife and make journey from life to death

Context:

-New Kingdom 1275 BCE

-found in Hu-Nefer's tomb

-from the Book of the Dead

Lamassu

Form:

- alabaster

-limestone

Content:

-god-like figures

-animal body, human head

-5 legs

Function;

-support doorways of Assyrian palaces

-intimidate those who enter

Context:

- from the citadel of Sargon II (modern day Iraq)

- 720-705 BCE

-Sumerian

Athenian Agora

Form:

-long buildings (stoa)

-covered places- public markets

-at foot of Acropolis, road that leads up

Function:

-marketplace/meeting area

-temple (pay tribute to Athena)

Content:

-participated with government

-democracy- didn't vote representatives but instead participated directly

Context:

-600-150 BCE

-Athens, Greece

Anavysos Kouros

Form:

-marble with remnant of paint

-archaic smile

-Egyptian inspiration shown through the stance of one foot slightly in front of other

-incaustic paint

Content:

-not a specific civilian depicted (not individualized)

-male nude (warrior)

-observing the human body

Function:

-grave marker

Context:

-530 BCE

-large scaled

Peplos Kore from Acropolis

Form:

-archaic smile

-patterned hair

-marble with paint remains

-smaller scale

Content:

-women with arm out (supposed to hold out a oil lamp but hand broken off)

Function:

-in front of temples to "light the way"

-votive figure

Context:

-530 BCE

Sarcophagus of the Spouses

Form:

-terra cotta (sign that this is Etruscan)

-lifesize

-archaic smile, patterned hair

-extending arms

Content:

-husband and wife reclining on a couch dining "dining in banquet for eternity"

-four pieces put together

Function:

-funerary container to hold ashes not the body

Context:

-520 BCE Etruscan

Audience hall (apadana)

Form:

-hypostyle hall

-cut sandstone and mud brick

-built in a hillside with big platform

-72 columns (3 portico made of 12 columns)

Content:

- relief on the side pictures Darius and Xeres

-stairs have central relief of king enthroned with attendants

-reliefs

Function;

-used to hold thousands of people (audience hall), king's receptions

- ascend upwards symbolic

Context:

- Persepolis, Iran; Persian influence

- 520-465 BCE

-built by Darius and Xeres; destroyed by Alexander the Great

Temple of Minerva and sculpture of Apollo

Form:

-temple: wood, mud brick, tufa (volcanic rock)

-sculpture: terra cotta

-animated and moving sculpture (estruscan)

Content:

-Apollo apart of a narrative of Herakles, acroterion (roof sculpture)

-deep porch, 3 cella (entrance is emphasized)

-archaic Greek smile

Function:

-Estruscan temple made to be a place to worship the Estruscan gods and goddesses

-acroterians probably shows a mythic event

Context:

-Veii (near Rome, Italy)

-Imperial Rome 2nd centry BCE

-sculpture made by Vulca

Tomb of the Triclinium

Form:

-tufa and fresco

-wall paintings

-great detailed piers

-color coding to show genders (not race)

Content:

-pictures people casually dining in triclinium (reclined on couches)

-fully furnished

-lively paintings of people dancing and in motion

Function:

-keep record of domestic life

-holds ashes (crematorium) and any other offerings to the dead

Context:

-Tarquinia, Italy

-Estruscan 480-470 BCE

Niobides Krater

Form:

-calyx krater (type of painted pot)

-stiffness in the figures contrast the other relaxed side of the vase

-sense of depth perception

-red figure technique with white highlight

Content:

-one side: mortal woman named Niobe with 12 children would always brag to the goddess Leto that she had more children so Apollo and Artemis (Leto's children) take revenge for their mother by killing all 12 children

-other side: Hercules (identified with club and lions skins) is actually a sculpture (contraposta) and Greek soldiers are offering tribute and prayer to protect them before going into battle

Context:

-460-450 BCE

-not signed

Doryphoros (spear bearer)

Form:

-marble (Roman); bronze (Greek)

-contrapposto: shifted weight

-not meant to portray a specific person but rather specific characteristics of a Greek

Function:

-portray the physical perfection of a human figure

Content:

-everyone is imperfect but brings together different body proportions to make physical

-missing its spear

-athlete and warrior

-gazes off in the distance

Context:

-Artist= Polykleitos of Argos in 450 BCE

-Roman copy of the Greek original

Acropolis

Form:

-marble (wealth)

-winged figure (nike)

-elevated

Content:

-buildings, temples, statues

-Parthenon (constructed under Pericles):

-doric temple

-East Pediment on parthenon: birth of Athena from the head of Zeus (Helios)

-plaque of ergastines: procession held for Athena every 4 years

-Temple of Athena Nike: commemorate Greek victory over the Persians

-Victory Nike adjusting her sandal

Function:

-hold image of goddess Athen (in cella)

-celebrate the female figure

-civic pride (Athena)

-commercial, civic, religious, and social building

Context:

-Athens, Greece 450-410 BCE

Grave Stele of Hegeso

Form:

-marble with paint

-hierarchic scale

-drape accentuates the body

Function:

-funerary object

-put on graves in Classical period

-commemorates the death of Hegeso

Content:

-genre scene: slave bringing jewelry box to nike figure for her to examine the jewelry

-inscription identifies Hegeso

Context:

-410 BCE

Winged Victory of Samothrace

Form:

-marble

-textures shown

-very dramatic motion, explosive,

-forward movement counteracted by the backward movement of her wings

Content:

-nike lands on front of ship descending from the heavens

-wet drapery look to the sculpture

-twist and contrapposto of the torso

Function:

-war monument

-commemorating a naval victory

-nike is a symbol of victory

Context:

- 190 BCE Hellenistic Greek

Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon

Form:

-marble frieze

-elevated with steep dramatic staircase

-complex forms with big muscles showing violent energy and detail

-ionic columns

Content:

-frieze wrapping around the monument shows gods overpowering the Titans

-Titans vs. Olympians

-"Athena": gigantomachy, battle between the gods and giants (gods win)

Function:

-war monument (Greek defeat of Gauls)

-break architectural boundaries

-altar dedicated to ZeusContext:

-175 BCE

- Asia Minor, Turkey

House of the Vettii

Form:

-cut stone and fresco

-axial symmetry

Content:

-atrium (inner courtyard with pool)

-reception area (atrium) has open ceiling

-catch basin to collect rainwater

-peristyle garden in back of house

-living room with frescoes

-frescoes show person's taste and used as conversation pieces for businessmen to discuss

Function;

-represents the wealth of the people who lived there

Context:

-Pompeii, Italy

-Imperial Rome 2nd century BCE rebuilt 62-79 CE

-wealthy family's home set in the middle of markets

Alexander Mosaic

Form:

-mosaic copy of a Greek wall painting

-tessarae: individual pieces of a mosaic

-spacial illusionism

-interweaving of figures

Content:

-Alexander the Great confront Darius III at Battle of Isos

-dead tree signifies the death and sadness

Function:

-floor mosaic showing dramatic representation of a historical event

-last major defeat of the Persians

Context:

-Roman Republic

-House of Faun, Pompeii 100 BCE

Seated Boxer

Form:

-bronze

-realistic- shows the exhaustion of a real athlete

Content:

-boxer seated naked with only his boxing gloves

-copper shows blood

-cuts and bruises

Function:

-show a boxer after a fight

Context:

-Greek 100 BCE

-Hellenistic

Head of a Roman partician

Form:

-marble

-deep wrinkles, hooked nose, defined cheek bones

Content:

-realistic portrayal of a Roman patrician

-show sense of civic virtue: wisdom, seriousness, public service

Function:

-kept in shrines of Roman houses

-mask of values and virtues of Republican men in Rome

Context:

-Republican Roman 75-50 BCE

-influence of Greek Hellenistic art

Augustus of Prima Porta

Form:

-marble, over life-size

-elevated to be more god-like

-contrapposto

Content:

-Augustus barefoot

-cupid riding dolphin (shows divinity

-breastplate is about the Pax Romana: the power of empire is due to the military

Function:

-shows Augustus as a god because he thought he was (barefoot and cupid riding dolphin signs of this)

-shows him as civic ruler (judge's robe) and warrior (breastplate)

Context:

-Imperial Rome (early empire) 1st century CE

Colosseum

Form:

- stone + concrete

-Corinthian, Doric, and ionic columns

-outside mostly intact

-barrel vaults, thick walls, groin vaults, arches

Content:

-2 theaters

-downward force of arches

-bronze shield on top, 4 layers

-76 entrances

Function:

-entertainment for the public

-usually dangerous like gladiator fights or animal hunts

Context:

- Rome, Italy 70-80 BCE

- Imperial Rome

Forum of Trajan

Form:

-column: marble, low relief

-brick and concrete architecture

-scroll-like frieze on column- continuous narrative

-groin vaulting/barrel vaults in market

Content:

-forum: basilica in back with equestrian figure in the center and two libraries

-marble column of trajan: ashes of trajans put in bottom, crowded composition, story of defeat of the Dacians

-market of trajan: multilevel mall with 150 shops

Function:

-column: monuments celebrates the victory in the Dacian war

-forum: marketplace

Context:

- Rome, Italy 106-112 CE column 113 CE

Pantheon

Form:

-marble

-coffers: indentations in the ceilings

-15' thick walls

Content:

-big portico in the front with a rotunda in back that has a dome with an oculus

-sculptures of gods in niches

Function:

-houses all 7 planetary gods

-famous burial space

-coffers create illusion of heaven

Context:

-imperial Rome 118-125 CE

Ludovisi Battle Sacrophagus

Form:

-marble

-high relief

Content:

-figures piled on top of each other, crowded surface

-Romans shown as the good guys (ideal/noble)

-Romans trampling over defeated barbarians

- enemies very caricatured with great detail

Function:

-tomb

Context:

-late imperial empire; 250 CE