Art Museum Critical Review

1. Work of art from the Prehistoric to the 14th century

The Figure of a Young Man from a Funerary Relief is from the city state of Athens, Greece. It was created around 330 B.C. It is a sculpture in the round made of marble. It stands 63 1/8 x 30 ¾ x 18 ¾ inches. The sculpture is located on the second floor of the Ancient Mediterranean department.

This figure of a young man comes from an elaborate grave memorial. Originally, the figure of the youth would have been framed by an architectural shrine that also included other figures, such as the boy’s aged father. His nude body has the radiant purity of an athlete in his prime, although implicit in the work is a sense of tragedy, as the young man has died in the flower of youth and beauty. (DMA)

Ancient Greeks carved their art to look like themselves, extremely lifelike. The art depicted the human body in rounded, smoothed out marble that mirrored the Greeks directly. No other civilization had ever depicted this in their art quite in the same manner thus far, which makes the Greeks’ art so unique. The Greek Archaic period of art came first, and they had not achieved the naturalism that was achieved during the Classical period of Greek art.

The contrapposto position can be observed in the sculpture. This is where the disposition of the human figure in which one part is turned in opposition to another part creates a counter-positioning of the body about its central axis. This is also called “weight shift” because the weight of the body tends to be thrown to one foot, creating tension on one side and relaxation on the other. (Dasllas Museum of Art) This piece reflects the values of Greek art in that it was created to display the strength and perfection of the Greek man.

Works Cited

"Figure of a Young Man from a Funerary Relief." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov.

2. Work of art from the 15th century to the present

The Takenouchi no Sukune Mets the Dragon King of the Sea from Japan was created around 1875 – 1879. It is a sculpture in the round made of bronze and glass which stands 54 x 40 x 26 inches. The sculpture is located on the third floor concourse overlooking the south in the Asian art department.

This Meiji period sculpture recounts a popular scene from a dream had by the famous warrior-statesman, Takenouchi no Sukune, where the Dragon King of the Sea presents him with the Jewel of the Tides. Takenouchi, seen on the right, wears elaborate armor and carries various weapons, such as a dagger, sword, and bow and arrow. The Dragon King, holding out the jewel, wears a fantastical headdress that includes a dragon and heavy ornamentation. The attendant on the left carries a large fan of palm leaves and wears a fish-form mask, lobster girdle, and seaweed skirt. This extraordinary group is a tour-de-force of bronze casting and a great tribute to the artistry of Japanese metal craftsmen. (Dallas Museum of Art)

This piece embodies a great deal of movement and action. In addition, there is variety and asymmetrical balance. The glass ball is centralized in the middle of the sculpture and is obviously the focal point. The artist guides the viewer’s eye from the focal point to the subject presenting the glass ball, the Dragon King, to his attendant, and then finally the recipient of the jewel, Takenouchi. The flow in the hair and clothing of the two figures on the left in stark contrast to the figure on the right, give way that the subjects are from different worlds. The two figures on the left are from the sea, supported by sea creatures and coral. Although, very subtle, the figure on the right, Takenouchi, is slightly taller than the other subjects as he stands upright and armed and the others appear submissive and smaller. This gives way to the idea of hierarchy and the importance of Takenouchi in the composition. The use of hierarchical scale distinguishes the most important and largest figure from those of lesser rank in this piece.

Works Cited

"Takenouchi No Sukune Meets the Dragon King of the Sea". DMA CONNECT. N.p., n.d.

Web. 07 Nov. 2014.

3. Analyze the relationship of art to history by comparing the piece you selected from Prehistoric art to the 14th century to the piece you selected from the 15th century to the present. Consider each piece’s cultural, historical, and chronological contexts in your analysis.

When examining the sculpture from the Greek culture, several of this culture’s ideas, philosophies, and values are being expressed. First, this is a representational and naturalistic work of art depicting a person. The subject matter itself indicates their emphasis on the individual and their beliefs in demos, people themselves. There is a connection between that and the fact that this is the root of their political beliefs and democracy. This culture developed the lost wax method, which was used to make the original bronze sculpture of this piece. This indicates their resources available as well as their technical capabilities and skill sets. Clearly the Greek culture focused on the individual. This connection can be presumed for a couple of reasons. Only one person is depicted in this piece of sculpture. This demonstrates that the Greek artist clearly believed that the human form was a worthy subject matter in and of itself. This piece emphasizes the perfection of the human body, which is known as idealization. The perfect proportions and the fact that there are no flaws the Greeks' search for harmony and beauty, which is rendered in the perfectly proportioned sculpted male nude.

When compared to Takenouchi no Sukune Mets the Dragon King of the Sea, it is evident that both were originally made from bronze using a cast technique. However, the subject matter of this piece is distinctively different from the Greek piece as it has themes and references to defense, war, and battle. Rather than the focus being entirely on the nude human form like we saw in the Greek piece, there is an emphasis on the weaponry, which speaks to their purpose and their function in Japanese culture. Rather than being completely nude with the Greek emphasis on the sculptural form of the human body, the Japanese figure is fully clothed and heavily ornamented. Also, this piece is referencing a dream and a specific scene, so something outside of what is being presented to the viewer. There is somewhat of a narrative. In contrast, the Greek sculpture does not reference anything outside of itself, allowing the viewer to focus entirely on the human form. If there is a specific individual referenced in the Greek piece, it is unknown because Greek artists showed an idealized, or imagined, human body rather than a specific, identifiable individual. In the Japanese sculpture, the specific character being depicted is known by name.

4. Work of art that that reflects intercultural values and social ideas

The Cylindrical Vessel with Ball Game Scene from the Pre-Columbian Maya culture. It dates from 682 – 701 ce. It stands 8 1/16” and has a diameter of 6 1/4”. It is a three-dimensional ceramic piece and is located in the Ancient Arts of the Americas section on the fourth floor of the DMA.

The vase or vessel shows a scene from on the most important rituals in Maya culture, the ball game. A figure is dressed and adorned in the appropriate gear with padding that would actually be worn while playing this game. In addition, one of the largest objects on the vase is a large, black circle. This references the black rubber ball that would be used to play the ball game. However, the artist who created this piece has made the ball much larger in size and scale than it actually would have been in real life. The actual ball used during the game would have been 8 to 11 lbs.

The ball game was played as a sport, sometimes for gambling, and sometimes as a gladiatorial contest. It went beyond a game though, as it used to settle political disagreements. Instead of wars and battles, political disputes were often settled on the court.

This piece references a key socially responsible idea in regards to war and defense. Instead of having major warfare, battles, and the loss of many, innocent lives, two warring tribes or nations would select several players to represent their cultures. These representatives would comprise the players of the ball game. These teams would battle it out on the field. While this may still sound barbaric as the game was violent and the losers were decapitated, I think this practice is socially responsible as it cuts down on the loss of lives. In addition, innocent people (civilians) are not hurt or killed as their villages are attacked by opposing tribes.

Although there is not just one specific historical event being depicted on the Maya vessel, this piece is representative of the practice and the purpose of the ball game in Mesoamerican culture. This game was played for several centuries. It was practiced throughout the Maya region as there are several ball courts in Mesoamerica.