CHINESE ART

GU KAIZHI

                             

Artist Name : Ku K’ai-chih

Artwork Name: Gu Kaizhi

Location : Wuxi , China 

Gu Kaizhi (顧愷之, ca. 344-406) is a celebrated painter of ancient China. According to historical records he was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province and first painted at Nanjing in 364. In 366 he became an officer (Da Sima Canjun, 大司馬參軍). Later he was promoted to a royal officer (Sanji Changshi, 散騎常侍). Gu Kaizhi wrote three books about painting theory: On Painting (畫論), Introduction of Famous Paintings of Wei and Jin Dynasties (魏晉勝流畫贊), and Painting Yuntai Mountain (畫雲台山記). 

Gu Kaizhi’s art is known today from both written records and paintings that are associated with him. He is recorded as having been among the first to paint a representation of Vimalakīrti, the Buddhist saint who became popular in China. 

Two versions of a painting recorded as having been painted by him, the hand scroll known as the Nymph of the Luo River, illustrating a Daoist poem, exist today. His essay “Hua Yuntaishan Ji” (“On Painting the Cloud Terrace Mountain”) is also Daoist in content. The famous hand scroll entitled The Admonitions of the Court Instructress bears a signature of Gu Kaizhi, though it is not originally recorded as having been painted by him. Nonetheless, it accurately maintains a pre-Tang dynasty (618–907) style. The scroll illustrates, through a series of individual scenes separated by the text of a didactic Confucian poem, proper behaviour for court ladies. The line is carefully controlled, and the composition and highly selected details both illustrate and expand effectively upon the nature of the text.

• The theme of the Luoshen Appraisal Painting (luo shen fu) was drawn from the article, Luoshen Appraisal, written by Cao Zhi, son of the Wei Emperor Cao Cao. The painting depicts the meeting between Cao Zhi and the Goddess Luoshen at Luoshui River, vividly capturing the mood of their first meeting and eventual separation. Gu emphasized his subjects' expressions, with the stones, mountains and trees having an ornamental purpose. Gu's paintings, which greatly influenced later traditional Chinese paintings, are similar in style to the Dunhuang murals.

• Gu also made great advances in summarizing painting theories. His theoretical works included Painting Thesis and Notes on Painting Yuntai Mountain. Gu paid considerable attention to the vivid expressions of his subjects to expose their spirit. His Graphic Theory later became a basic theory for traditional Chinese painting.

That conclude , According to historical records, Gu created more than 70 paintings based on historical stories, Buddha, human figures, birds, animals, mountains and rivers.

References

The People's Republic of China in Los Angeles; The Consulate General of .2003 webmaster@chinaconsulatela.org,

Cultural China - Arts - Biography of Gu Kaizhi ; Yamini Chauhan .Aug 04, 2014 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gu-Kaizhi

Xin, Yang; Chongzheng, Nie; Shaojun, Lang; Barnhard, Richard M (1997), Three thousand years of Chinese painting, New Haven, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gu_Kaizhi

EGYPT ART

The Sphinx of Giza 

                           


Artwork Name : The Sphinx Of Gaza 

Location : Giza Plateau 


 The word 'sphinx' is Greek and came to be applied to the Egyptian sculpture at Giza, according to Verner (and others) through a translation of the Egyptian name shesep-ankh ("living image") by which the Egyptians referred to the piece as well as to other representations of royal figures. While that may be, it is also quite likely that the statue simply reminded Greek writers of their own mythical sphinx, such as the one famous in the story of Oedipus, with the body of a beast and head of a woman. Greek visitors to the site, scholars such as Verner claim, mistook the nemes (the striped headcloth of the king) for a woman's shoulder-length hair.

During the time of the New Kingdom of Egypt (1570-1069 BCE), the Sphinx was known by the Egyptians as Horemakhet (Horus of the Horizon) and a cult grew up around the statue associating it with the god Horus. A 'cult' in ancient Egypt should be understood along the lines of a sect of a religious movement in the present day; not a cult as a modern reader understands that term. This was a solar cult which venerated Horus in his role as a sky god. Amenhotep II (1425-1400 BCE) may have patronized this cult. 

The Pyramids of Giza

                                   

The Character Sphinx Of Gaza

•  The Sphinx is truly a mysterious marvel from the days of ancient Egypt. The body of a lion with the head of a king or god, the sphinx has come to symbolize strength and wisdom.

• From the north side the profile of the Sphinx reveals the proportion of the body to the head. It would appear as though the head is small in proportion to the body. Because of the changing desert terrain, the body of the Sphinx has been buried several times over the past several thousand years.

• Most recently in 1905, the sand has been cleared away to expose the magnitude and beauty of the entirety of the Sphinx. The paws themselves are 50 feet long (15m) while the entire length is 150 feet (45m). The head is 30 (10m) feet long and 14 feet (4m) wide. Because certain layers of the stone are softer than others, there is a high degree of erosion that has claimed the original detail of the carved figure.

The most popular and current theory of the builder of the Sphinx holds that it was commissioned by the 4th Dynasty King, Khafre (2558-2532 BCE). Khafre was one of the sons of Khufu (AKA Cheops). The Sphinx lines up with the Pyramid of Khafre at the foot of its causeway. As one rounds the northeast corner to the front of the Sphinx, the alignment of the two structures becomes more apparent.

In my conclusion, the 18th Dynasty story tells of the time that Thutmosis IV fell asleep under the Sphinx which was covered to the neck in sand. Thutmosis had a dream that the Sphinx spoke to him and promised that if he would free the Sphinx from the sand, Thutmosis would be destined to become king of Egypt.

References 

Atlas of Ancient Egypt, Baines, John; Malek, Jaromir ; 1980 .Les Livres De France. www.guardians.net/egypt/sphinx/

"Pyramids of Giza - New World Encyclopedia". www.newworldencyclopedia.org. Retrieved 23 October 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Sphinx_of_Giza

Smithsonian Magazine , February2010. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/uncovering-secrets-of-the-sphinx-

HELISNISTIC ART

THE BRONZE BOXER

                     



Artwork Name : The Bronze Boxer

Location : Rome in 1885

The bronze Boxer*  is somewhat over life-size but so immediate it’s hard to think it’s not a “real” man and a man of total experience and  exhausted but powerful, brutalized but handsome, dazed by what’s hit him but alert for whatever’s coming his way. 

The bronze statue Boxer at Rest was excavated in Rome in 1885 on the south slope of the Quirinal Hill near the ancient Baths of Constantine, where it is thought to have been displayed. The statue was intentionally buried in late antiquity, possibly to preserve it against the barbarian invasions that ravaged Rome in the fifth century A.D. 

Made in the Hellenistic period, when a love of realism made a powerful advance on earlier Classical idealism, the boxer is astonishingly realistic. The Character Boxer ,Seated and near to exhaustion from a match, and bleeding from wounds all over his body, he still has the energy to turn his head.  

• In his athletic nakedness, he wears only boxing gloves and a sort of athletic suspender (kynodèsme) that was both protective and an element of decorum. The many wounds to his head, the primary target in ancient Greek boxing matches, make clear that he has just completed a match. 

• Blood, represented by inlaid copper, drips from cuts on his forehead, cheeks, and cauliflower ears. His right eye is swollen and bruised. His nose is broken, and he breathes through his mouth, probably because his nostrils are blocked by blood. His inwardly drawn lips are scarred, likely indicating that his teeth have been pushed in or knocked out. Despite his exhaustion, the muscles in his arms and legs are still tense, as if the battered champion were ready to spring up and face a new combatant.

   

The Magical Powers of the Statue

• Areas of the boxer's right foot and hands are worn from frequent touching in antiquity. The statue may have been accorded healing powers, as was known to have occurred with other statues of famous athletes. An Early Imperial vitreous paste ring stone appears to represent the same statue of a boxer sitting on a rock and may have been a talisman for the ring's owner. 

Boxing in Antiquity

• Boxing was an ancient and revered sport in antiquity. Already practiced in the Bronze Age, it is recorded in the eighth century B.C. among the athletic contests performed during the funeral games of Patrokles in book 23 of Homer's Iliad.

•  It was introduced into the Olympic games in 688 B.C. and became an integral competition at all the major pan hellenic sanctuaries where athletic events were held in connection with religious festivities. So popular was boxing among ancient Greek nobility, who valued it as a form of military training, that swollen ears became a mark of honor. 

• In ancient Greece, the rules for boxing differ from those today. A boxer had to face one opponent after another, typically without significant pauses, and blows were dealt exclusively to the head and face.

• That conclude ,Later on, during the Roman Imperial period, the boxing gloves worn by gladiators developed into deadly weapons with sharp metal or broken glass points.

References 

Hemingway, Seán. "The Boxer: An Ancient Masterpiece Comes to the Met". New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/now-at-the-met/features/2013/the-boxer

Article , The Boxer:An Ancient Masterpiece ; At The Met Fifth Avenue . JUNE 1–JULY 18, 2013

https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/now-at-the-met/features/2013/the-boxer

Smith, R. R. R. (1991). Hellenistic Sculpture. London. pp. 54–55. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_at_Rest 

ROMANTICISM ART

THE RAFT OF THE MEDUSA

   

Artist Name: Theodore Géricault

Art work:  The Raft of the Medusa 

Location :  louvre, Paris

Theodore Géricault created one of the most iconic masterpieces of French Romanticism, the Raft of the Medusa (1818-19). Depicted on a monumental scale, Géricault portrayed in horrifying explicitness scenes of a shipwreck based on a contemporary event in which the captain had deserted his crew and passengers, leaving them to die. The painting’s allusions to governmental negligence and corruption ignited great controversy and brought Géricault widespread attention. Although he died young, his candid representations and bold style influenced many of his contemporaries, including Eugène Delacroix, who served as one of the models for the Raft of the Medusa.  French, 1791-1824, Rouen, France, based in Paris, France.

"Although baroque tactics abound, Géricault's use of shock tactics, stunning the viewer's sensibilities, amounted to something new. A new tone and intention that distinguished the "high" phase of romanticism. In this phase, an instinct for the sublime and the terrible, qualities celebrated in the esthetic theory and art of the eighteenth century for example, (Fuselli's Nightmare), found sharpest expression in a method of reportorial accuracy far more stringent than that found in certain works by David.

The Raft of the Medusa Analysis

 Composition

• The action is arranged in two distinct pyramidal shapes. The diagonal lines lead the eye to two key peaks: the wave that may or may not engulf the survivors on the raft, and the flag in the top right corner that is raised in a last gesture of hope to the ship that may or may not rescue them.

Color palette:

• Géricault utilized a somber, dramatic color palette that was characteristic of Romantic painters. As the focus of the painting is the mass of corpses, flesh tones are present in abundance.

 Lighting and tone:

• The tone of the painting is as dark as the subject matter. Géricault draws from the Baroque with his lighting scheme, heavy on chiaroscuro and tenebrism, the stark contrast between light and dark. the draw likes The light of the sky contrasts sharply with the darkness of the sea and the overall tone of impending doom.

Figure studies:

• For the amazingly life-like and eerie quality to the bodies, Géricault worked figure by figure, completing the sketching and painting of each body before moving on to the next one. He had closely studied cadavers in the local morgue, bringing home severed limbs and heads.

Based the painting show  directly from these live models instead of from preparatory sketches.

References

Alhadeff, Albert. The Raft of the Medusa: Gericault, Art, and Race. Prestel, 2002

https://www.artsy.net/artwork/theodore-gericault-the-raft-of-the-medusa. 

Berger, Klaus & Gaericault, Thaeodore. Gericault: Drawings & Watercolors. New York: H. Bittner and Company, 1946.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Raft_of_the_Medusa

BAROQUE ART

SAMSON AND DELILAH 

Artist Name : Peter Paul Rubens

Artwork Name : Samson and Delilah 

Location : National Gallery London

The Figure Show , Samson, the Jewish hero, fell in love with Delilah. She was bribed by the Philistines, and discovered that his strength came from his hair which had never been cut. While he was asleep it was cut, Samson was drained of his strength and the Philistines were able to capture him  Rubens depicts a candlelit interior; the Philistines wait at the door, one of their number cuts Samson's hair, while an elderly woman provides extra light. In a niche behind is a statue of the goddess of love, Venus, with Cupid - a reference to the cause of Samson's fate.

This painting was commissioned by Nicolaas Rockox, alderman of Antwerp, for his town house in 1609-10. It shows the influence of the antique, as well as Michelangelo and Caravaggio. There is a preparatory drawing (private collection, Amsterdam) and a modello (Cincinnati Museum of Art).

Samson and Delilah Analysis

Composition:

• This painting takes on a sort of zig- zag composition in which the image is much deeper than the flat canvas it is painted on. The foremost subject is Samson and his cutter.The largest aspect being Samson's feet, the eye then travels up to the hushing Delilah who is still on the slanted first plane. 

Colour palette:

• This work shows van Dyck's ability to define texture and create the correct colour schemes that not only add depth but also texture and movement as realistically as possible. His use of colour in this work is so great that the viewer can almost feel the luscious fabrics in this scene.The color schemes are divided into two, as the entire left side of the canvas is immersed in darkness and shadow and Delilah is bathed in light. 

• This technique also defines the rich texture in comparison to the cold, hard marble floor on which he lies. Dark brown and grey dominate the left side, creating a foreboding atmosphere full of anticipation and fear and reflective of Samson's fate. 

The painting show   chambermaids and the Philistine cutting the hair have various reds to define their skin textures, showing a level of hardship upon these subjects. The reds show various physical stresses upon the bodies such as the hand about to cut the hair.

References 

The Arthby . Blake, Robin. Anthony Van Dyck: A Life,  Samsoo and Delilah .1599-1641. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2000. https://www.artble.com › Anthony van Dyck.

Samson and Delilah Revisited: The Politics of Women's Fashion in 1920s France Mary Louise Roberts.The American Historical Review , Vol. 98, No. 3 (Jun., 1993), pp. 657-68.

Christopher Brown, Rubens’ Samson and Delilah, London: National Gallery, 1983. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson_and_Delilah_(Rubens).