Discussion 6 Greek art Parthenon stones

Based on the information behind the discussion of whether or not the Parthenon marbles belong in the London museum or not is debatable. For one thing the archaeologist that discovered these artifacts at time though in order to preserve these pieces of history they should be placed in the London museum so that the world could see the wonders of ancient Greece. However the problem is that these Parthenon marbles where taken out of their native land without permission.  There could have been different policy's on those things in the 1800s where taking something out of a country was not a big deal like it is today in the twenty first century. In the 1800's the Greek artifacts came to the London museum and have been there on display since that time.There have been negotiations with the government in Greece as to the location of these artifacts. Does the Parthenon marbles belong to Greece or to the whole world? Some may argue that because these pieces of art where found in Greece then that is where they should remain and people from around the global can come to the museums in their country to see them. It makes for a more enlightening trip to see the original artifacts being on display in their own native land. Others might say on the other hand that the Parthenon marbles belong to everyone because everyone needs to learn about the history of Greece and other cultures. One of the ways that we learn about history is by going to museums and viewing the artwork and the pieces of architecture from other countries. Besides the people of Greece would what the world to know their cultures history and where they came from.

With having the Parthenon marbles in England it gave the people of Europe the benefit of going to see these wonders of Greece to gain a better understanding of the culture. Again some might say that the people of England took away some of Greece's history by taking the artifacts to London. Art is very important to the people of Greece because for one thing a lot of it has to do with their religion. There are many statues of the gods and goddesses that where created so that the people could pay contributions to these beings. The temples are another important part because their purpose was for people to go and worship these gods. What it comes down to is not a question about doing what many believe to be as right but how is it going to impact people. If the Greeks got their Parthenon marbles back would it be better to have them displayed at the museums in Greece rather then London or somewhere else. Would there be benefits to government in Greece having these artifacts back? The only thing that might be a benefit for Greece is the number of tourist from around the world coming to see their pieces of art. Still whether the Parthenon marbles are in Greece or not the country still gets tourist that see the other parts such as the temples and cities. There is a setback that does keep tourist from visiting England and Greece and that is the financial means and the time set aside to go.

Negotiations could be done in regards to having the Parthenon marbles go around the world such as going to museums in the United States, Canada, Asia, Africa, etc. That way everyone would get the opportunity to see these artifacts of Greece without having to travel so far and this special exhibit could be included in admission prices to the museums that it visits. It would be an educational experience for students of all ages. The point is that everyone should have a chance to see these pieces of art from Greece.

Discussion 5 Girl Gathering Saffron Crocus Flowers

This Cyclades wall painting was inspired by Egyptian art because it gives the appearance of the flat painting that is done in Egypt. The eye that is facing the viewers has an Egyptian style except that the makeup that goes out toward the end of the eyelash is not present and the eye brow has a thick appearance that is similar to what is shown in Egyptian art. The girl has less makeup then an Egyptian woman.  The face of the girl in the painting is full like the face of Egyptian women.

The design of the plant life is similar because of how the flowers thin leaves have waves in them that is similar to how a grove of papyrus plants are portrayed. The slender figure of the girl can be compared to the women in the Egyptian reliefs except that the arms on an Egyptian woman are slender and the arms on the girl in the picture are thick. This wall painting can be compared to that of a regular Egyptian relief because as was said previously the flat appearance. The grid style and geometric shapes are not used in this piece because the picture is not made up of distinct shapes.

The differences in this wall painting comparing it with the Egyptian art is that for one thing the outfit and hairstyle of the girl is different because the dress has different colors in it and looks like there is multiple layers that make up the skirt and there is no collar. The dress does not look like one that is wore by someone from the Mediterranean area. It has an Asian appearance because of the multi layers of material that make up the dress and the tie that is around the waist. The hair is pulled back and some kind of hat is worn that covers the head and a small strip of hair comes out the back that gives the appearance of a small ponytail. Egyptian women wear their hair down and there is a gold decoration that is worn in their hair and the jewelry is gold.The earring that the girl is wearing is bigger then those that are wore by the Egyptian women. The right ear on the girl is shown. In Egyptian artwork the ears on the women are hidden under the gold decorations that they wear on their heads. The bracelets that she wears has wavy curves and Egyptian ones show a straight band that goes around their wrists. In addition to that they are made out of different materials. One is a band that appears to be made out of leather and the Cyclades girl has bracelets made out of beads. Her right foot is shown is stepping up and it could be on a rock and the left foot is down lower. It is hard for the viewer to see her feet because there is a camouflage thing going because her skin and the background are the same color. One other thing to note is that it looks like her dress is open on top but her breasts are not showing.

Egyptian woman wear white dresses with gold collars and in the pictures you can see their feet. Their chests are small and their breasts are not shown. The skin color of the Egyptians is brown and the color of the girl in the Cyclades wall painting is albino white. The place where she is standing has little detail. This girl is shown in action because she is climbing up a hill and she is picking flowers.The view can assume that she is picking these crocus flowers on a hill because the ground has a slope that goes upward. The surrounds of the figures are more detailed in Egyptian art because the things like the plants and animals are drawn with detail. The surroundings in this wall painting are faded and have little detail which makes it hard for the viewer to make out the terrain.One more thing to note is that Egyptian women are in sitting or standing positions, immobile and look serious. The girl in the wall painting is mobile because she is climbing up a hill and picking flowers and she looks happy.

In contrast to Egyptian art, Cyclades are not as detailed and precise as Egyptians. In the wall painting for example because the feet of the girl are faded in with the background you might think that she was hovering in midair. You have to look close to get the details whereas with Egyptian art you are able to see the features of the figures because of the bright colors and the details. In Cyclades art pale colors are used more often then bright ones. This painting of a girl gathering saffron crocus flowers is interesting to look at and compare it with other artworks.

Akhenaten and his family Discussion 4

This painted limestone relief portrays an Egyptian royal family. This relief is square shaped and the upper left corner has a missing piece. It is not know how it was damaged but a small chunk has been taken off. The sides a not straight but kind of curved. On the right side of the relief pointing towards that right corner there is a small piece that broke off that is in the shape of a right triangle. Below that there can be seen smaller chunks that broke off. In addition to that compared to the left side the right has a smooth appearance and the left side has a bumpy appearance to it because of the blemishes. The areas where the figures has a rough and bumpy appearance because if you touch a carving you can feel the bumps and the rough curves and edges. It give the viewer the impression that this relief was broken off something else like a wall. The pharaoh and his queen have three children. The queen has a child that looks about the age of four or five and it is pointing at its sibling that is being cradled by the father. What appears to be the youngest child is sitting on his mother's right shoulder and he is pointing to his sibling that is being cradled in his father's arms. The child that is cradled in his fathers arms is pointing at his two siblings that are with his mother. It is hard to tell the gender of the children. The one sitting in the queens lap could be a daughter because of the headdress that she is wearing and the proportion of her body. Both the child that is in the father's arms and the child that is on the queens right shoulder could be males.  One other thing to point out is that the children that are with the queen are pointing with their right hand and the child that is with his father is pointing with his left hand. Those kids are not wearing a headdress like the one that is sitting on the queens lap. If you look closely at the small child that is on the queens right shoulder you can make out his genital area that hangs down. Pharaoh Akhenaten and his queen are sitting across from each other. Their expressions tells the viewers that they are proud parents and they love their children. The queen appears to have a radiant smile on her face and Akhenaten's face looks more solemn. The queen looks round in proportion around the middle indicating that she could be pregnant again. Her husband is skinny but he does have a bit of a pouch around the stomach. His kilt on the left side sticks out a little. Akhenaten is wearing the double crown of the unified kingdom and the queens crown shows the same thing only there are differences such as the shape of the crown. Pharaoh's crown is oval shaped and the queens crown is triangular shaped. One other feature to take note of that is seen on both crowns is that two pieces of material are hanging down from the crowns. This material could be interpreted as being hair as well and the way that it is sticking out it appears to be blowing in the wind which could indicate that this scene is taking place outside. The royal family could be out on a balcony or the front pouch. Judging by the proportion of the platform that has the thrones there is probably a stairwell that leads up to them.

 The sun god, Ra is in the middle of the picture and his many arms are stretching in both directions indicating blessings towards Akhenaten and his queen. The symbol of ankh can be seen in the mist of the hands the indicates everlasting life and at the bottom of the sun. Two of Ra's hands are holding that symbol. One hand is extended towards Pharaoh and the other is extended towards his queen. The blessing that Ra is bestowing on the royal family is everlasting life. Hieroglyphics are shown in the background and it is a possibility that they tell the story that is taking place in the picture.  The majority of the hieroglyphics are on the queens side which tells that the story is mostly about her because she gave birth to three children and another one appears to be on the way.The sitting places of Akhenaten and his queen are different because Pharaohs has a design of a variety of shapes that include triangles and rectangles and the queen's throne has a picture of plants that grow beside the Nile. The cushions that they sit on are different as well because the queens cushion has a piece of cloth that hangs down. Another difference is shown with the foot cushions as well because the queens has a tassel hanging down and Akhenaten's cushion does not have one. On his side there is a piece of furniture that looks like a stand that has different shapes. Some of the shapes are rectangular and that others are oval shaped and they are stacked on top of one another. On the queens side there is a tall skinny stand that looks like a lamp stand that has sort of a half moon shape that is upside down and the top and the bottom of the stand look like they are tied together but that is the design that creates the illusion that the top and the bottom are tied together. The technique that is shown in this picture is sunken relief which was sometimes used. The original stones role serves as the background and gives the figures a three dimensional effect. The views can see that the figures appear to come out more then the background by the way they are carved.

Discussion 3 Code of Hammurabi

First of all to look at it from an artistic point of view the slab in rounded in proportion. The sides a straight and narrow. The piece itself seems to be made out of plaster or concrete. The color is interesting to because it is black and that color represents death and emptiness. It could have been painted black or a black substance was used because black could mean that the punishment for law breakers was death. When people saw this slab in ancient times a fear could have been instilled into them for when they saw the slab they though we must obey the laws or we get the death penalty or face the wrath of the gods. From what I gather the reason why the slab is black could be due to the paint or dye that was used when it was created or it could be the substances natural color. There also appears to be a light and shadow thing going on because in the picture of the slab in the textbook light appears to be beaming on the top of the slab and that gives the impression that the top of the slab has shades of gray. There also appears to be dabs of gray at the bottom of the slab. Historically it is said that a righteous prince that feared the wrath of the gods wrote these laws to help bring order to chaos and to please the father of the gods. There are a total of two hundred eighty two laws. These laws are based on gender, class and finances. It is interesting to note that the ten commandments enough though the slabs are smaller and are written on a different type of mineral they are rounded in proportion as well. The ten commandments has been depicted to have been written on stone tablets that are white or tan depending on how the artist depicts them in paintings. White represents purity and the color could be an indication that these commandments came from God. The other could color depicted on the slabs could represent how the light is being reflected off of them. The laws in the code of Hammurabi seem to be divided for different people whereas the ten commandments apply to everyone and they are simple and the other laws are harder to comprehend. One more thing that I want to add is that the prince that wrote the code of Hammurabi did not receive divine visitations from the gods and Moses talked to God up close and personal.  Like the people that followed the code of Hammurabi the children of Israel were supposed to fear God and follow his commandments. From an artist point of views comparing the slabs they each have the same shape and proportions however the ten commandments are smaller and are written on stone. The color of the slabs is different as well.