Essay 5a

 

Essay 5a

Man and God

Question: Could the art of the Gothic period, in your estimation, be similar to, or parallel with, in any way, the Amarna period (1353 BC-1335 BC) in Egypt and if so; what were the historical aftereffects of each period or, if you think not, why?

Part One
Summary: What I experienced in the study of this question was not what I expected. I found that not only was there similarities within the artwork from the Amarna Period and the Gothic Period, but there were also similarities in how the artwork evolved from each respective preceding period. The art from the Amarna Period changed from the art of earlier Egyptian periods in the same way the art of the Gothic period change from the earlier Medieval periods.

Reason: I believe this question asked to discover not only the connections of artwork from two separate periods, but also to discover how the art from each period similarly changed from their respective previous periods.

Purpose: The purpose of this question was to cause me to look past the artwork itself and pay attention to the developments and changes that led up to each style of art.

Direction: The research of this question only reinforced beliefs I already had about how each civilization influences the next, and how while things change through time, they also stay the same. I enjoy finding ways that history repeats itself in order to know how it does, and so the research of this question led to another discovery of how history can be repeated.

Impressions: I had one of those "aha moments" while researching this question. As I was reading about the differences between Gothic art and Romanesque art, it hit me that the differences between the two were the same form of differences between Amarna Period art and its preceding Egyptian periods. Then I realized that was the primary connection between the Amarna Period and the Gothic Period.

Part Two
Answer:  Connections in the artwork from the Amarna Period and the Gothic Period exist not only within the artwork, but in how the art from each period became what it was. To see this, one must first compare the differences between Amarna art and the art of earlier Egyptian periods, and then the differences between the Gothic Period and earlier Medieval periods. Then it is easier to see the similarities between Amarna and Gothic art for what they truly are, developments in artistic style.

Artwork of Egyptians periods preceding the Amarna Period:



F. 1 Ti Watching an Elepant Hunt
Painted limestone relief.
c. 2400BCE

In the time before the rein of Akhenaten and Nefirtiti artwork, such as sculptures and relief carvings, followed a traditional and mathematical style. Portrayals of people and the surrounding environment were "often based on conceptual principles rather than on the observation of the of the natural world with an eye to rendering it in lifelike fashion" (Art History. Fourth Edition. Vol. 1.Marilyn Stokestad. p. 51). In relief carvings, parts of the body such as the head, hips, legs, and feet were portrayed from a profile, while the eyes and torso were portrayed from a frontal view. This helped to show every aspect of how a persons body was to be reconstructed in the afterlife. The main figures of this artwork were typically standing straight up, perhaps in the midst of a stride to show both legs and feet, and had a sense of rigidity. Kings were typically portrayed as being incredibly larger than others within the relief who were of lesser status. While the king was shone standing, or in the midst of walking, lesser people, such as scribes, hunters, etc., were shown as being involved in tasks and thus appeared more life-like than the king.




F. 2 Menkaure and a Queen
Graywacke with traces of red and black paint.
 c. 2490-2472 BCE.

Statues from earlier Egyptian periods follow a similar, rigid format. Being that statues are three dimensional, there was not a need for portraying a person in the point of view used in relief carvings. However, people, primarily kings, were still portrayed as standing or sitting perfectly upright. They appear extremely stiff, as if there is actually no natural curvature to their spine. The statue of Menkaure and a Queen (fig. 2) shows Menkaure with his shoulders slightly back, chest up, and arms perfectly straightened at his side. Even the queen is standing perfectly upright. Both figures project a feeling of importance and refinement. Even today we would expect a person of the wealthy upper class, or of nobility, to present themselves in such a posture. Also interesting to this sculpture is how the faces of the man and women are almost identical. While the mans is longer and thinner, and the woman's shorter and wider, the appearance of the eyes, nose, mouth, and cheek bones follow the same uniform style. There is no particular focus to the individual appearance of each person.

Artwork of the Amarna Period:

After Akhenaten took the Egyptian throne in 1353 BCE, the style of artwork began to change. Not long after beginning his reign, Akhenaten changed the Egyptian religion from a polytheistic one to that of a monotheistic one which worshipped the sun god Aten as the sole god. Aten is represented in art from this period as a sun disk with multiple rays that end in hands. With this new religion, artwork seems to have changed its focus. Work became less mathematically proportionate and began to focus on the features of the individual. This is apparent when viewing the statues of Akhenaten and his queen, Nefertiti; both are shown below.

F. 3 Nefertiti  Painted limestone. c. 1353-1336 BCE
Colossal figure of Akhenaten Sandstone with traces of polychrome.
 c. 1353-1349

When comparing these two images to the statue of Menkaure and a queen, striking differences are visible. First off, Akhenaten and Nefertiti look incredibly realistic and it is obvious that they are two different people. In earlier Egyptian art, people were differentiated by such items as clothing and objects they were holding. But these two statues are not only differentiated by the objects, but by their facial features, which do not follow a uniform formula such as the statue of figure 2. Akhenaten has a long face, large ears, and a mouth that has a touch of a smile. If the entire statue was in the picture, it would be visible that his body is not perfectly proportionate, nor is it athletic looking. His torso is long and lanky, while his hips and upper legs are much wider and his stomach sags slightly. This contrasts largely to the image of Menkaure who is portrayed as being in perfect shape, with an unrealistically proportionate body. Nefertiti has almost no similarities to Akhenaten in the way that the queen with Menkaure does. The portrayal of her facial features make it clear that she is woman. The features are smaller and much more feminine. Instead of a rounded out face such as the queen in figure 2, her jaw line is accentuated, as well as her cheek bones. The appearance of both figures portray incredibly real people. (There are some pictures of this Nefertiti bust taken from slightly below and the effect that has makes her look as if she is literally alive. Perhaps this bust of her was meant to be viewed from below. http://the100.ru/images/womens/id850/3339-nefertiti11.jpg)

F. 4 Akhenaten and his Family
Painted limestone relief. c. 1353-1336 BCE

Portrayals of the royal figures in relief carvings also changed drastically. Originally, royal families were portrayed with the King much larger and standing in his own space, while the other members of his family were smaller and stood around him. The Amarna artwork brought the view of the royal family to an entirely new perspective. The relief carving of Akhenaten and his family (fig. 4) portrays both himself and Nefertiti seated. Akhenaten is shown as being only slightly larger than Nefertiti, which is more realistic to how a man could be larger than a woman. The interesting aspect of this relief is the interaction taking place between the king and queen, and their children. "Rather than composed serenity, this artist has conveyed the fidgety behavior of children and the loving involvement of their parents in a manner not even hinted at in earlier royal portraiture" (Art History, p. 71). In this relief, it is easy to imagine the royal family spending time together and interacting in a way similar to parent/child interaction visible today.

All in all, the art of the Amarna period became more relaxed in comparison to earlier Egyptian art. The figures lost their rigid poses. Their backs (refer to figure 4) have a natural curve and their shoulders are slightly slumped showing that the figures are not sitting perfectly upright. Even though the traditional styles, profiled heads, legs, feet, with frontal eyes and torso, are still portrayed, it appears more natural. The frontal torsos have a feeling of being frontal because of the way the figures are positioned, not because of an aim for completeness. The manner in which all people are positioned are in such a way that you would expect to see both shoulders. Also important to the changes of art in the Amarna period is the focus on the individual and a change to realism. People are more easily differentiated based on their physical appearance than by the hieroglyphics that accompany them.

Artwork of early Medieval periods:

Art throughout the various Medieval periods underwent many changes, all of which eventually led a "new" style of art in the Gothic period and on into the Renaissance. Many of these changes took place within architecture where buildings went from having curved arches and curved roof domes such as in the Romanesque period, to having pointed arches and domes such as in the Gothic period. What is interesting here is how there is a return to a triangular point similar to that of the Egyptian pyramids, as well as other pyramid styles scattered across the globe.




F. 5 Virgin with Child
 Oak with polychrome.
Late 12th Century.
 

The minor arts of these periods are items such as sculptures and illuminated manuscripts. Similar to early Egyptian art, sculptures portrayed an unrealistic rigidity to the persons being sculpted. One of the best examples of this are the statues of Mary and the child Jesus. Generally known as the Throne of Wisdom, Mary is sculpted sitting in an upright position that has a feeling of formality. The baby Jesus is shown sitting on Mary's lap in a similar, stiff position. This type of statue, shown in figure 5 shows Mary and Jesus as having similar and plain faces. There is no expression to the faces and if not for the size differences, the age difference would not be over distinguishable by studying the faces. Although Mary has her hands held in front of Jesus, it is not in an affectionate embrace, but one that portrays protection; Mary is the mother and therefore must protect her child.

Another example of the lack of realism within sculpture from early Medieval periods is a sculpture of Christ and two disciples from the Romanesque period; shown on page 452 of the Art History book. All the faces of the three people have similar characteristics with the differences being in the facial hair. The fingers of the people have an unrealistic portrayal as being close together and overly rounded out, as if there are in fact no bones in the fingers. Although there is detail to the robes worn by the three, there is a feeling of the robes being extremely flat with no sense of flow.



F. 6 Chi Rho Iota page Book of Kells
Oxgall inks and pigments on vellum.
 Late 8th or early 9th Century.

Illuminated manuscripts are a highly popular item from all Medieval periods. In early Medieval times, illuminations often portrayed a feeling of being incredibly colorful, but in reality there were only colors of blue, red, gold, green, and white. This is visible in the Chi Rho Iota page from the Book of Kells (fig. 6). Also noticeable is the extravagant patterns that cover the page. Every bit of the artwork feels as if it is all intertwined with no beginning and no end. This type of artistic style was common in illuminated manuscripts along with the portrayal of the natural world with various animals, which were not typically lifelike. As illumination developed and became more popular, people were often portrayed as well as the usual patterns and animals. However, these people appeared just as Christ and his disciples previously mentioned. The faces all have the same look, the hands seem to have no bones, and the clothing as well as all other aspects have a minuscule amount of depth and realism. For an example, refer to page 486 of Art History and glance at the image of St. Matthew, from the Codex Colbertinus. The writers of the book even describe this piece as having "little sense of three-dimensionality, with solid blocks of color filling its strong outlines".

Artwork of the Gothic Period:

F. 7 Ekkehard and Uta  (hand close up)
 Stone with polychrome. c. 1245-1260

While many changes that took place in Gothic art began to appear in Romanesque art, the changes almost fully took place with the Gothic period. In place of sculpture, stained glass took over within cathedrals. While statues still appeared inside and outside of the cathedrals, they were not the main artistic focus. The images that appeared in stained glass still did not contain a large amount of depth, but they portrayed more stories and details than what was previously portrayed by statues and sculptures of cathedrals. What is most interesting about the stained glass windows is the striking similarity to the relief carvings of Ancient Egypt.
The pictures are assembled in a manner that portrays a story from beginning to end. In regards to sculptures, those became much more realistic within the Gothic period. Where the sculpture of Christ and his disciples was lacking in realism, the statues of Ekkehard and Uta (fig. 7) are incredibly realistic. Their robes are not flat as are those of Christ and his disciples. Instead, they portray volume and a natural flow as they fall around the bodies of Ekkehard and Uta. The most striking contrast of these statues from those of the preceding Medieval periods is the amount of detail and realism that is portrayed in Uta's hand. The fingers are not pressed together as in earlier sculptures but are spread out giving each individual finger a life of its own. Also visible is the appearance of bones in the fingers, which are no longer rounded out as in earlier times.

F. 8 Virgin and Child with the Artist Kneeling
Ink and color on parchment. c. 1250-1259.
 

Another major change that took place during the Gothic period that should be brought to attention is the appearance of Mary and the baby Jesus. As previously mentioned, the two were typically shown sitting rigidly on a throne. There is a lack of affection, but a portrayal of protection. In the Gothic period, this changes to show Mary and baby Jesus as being affectionate to one another as one would expect a mother and child to be. Figure 8 gives an example of this showing Mary holding baby Jesus close to herself, with her cheek resting gently against his, while he gives her a loving embrace. Statues of Mary and baby Jesus also portray another form of realism by showing Mary standing while holding baby Jesus and balancing her weight to one side to support the weight of the baby.

Similarities of Amarna and Gothic Art:

As apparent from the writings above, the primary similarity of artwork from both the Amarna period and Gothic period is how they changed from artwork that was previously rigid and formal. In the same manner, each periods portrayal of people developed from everyone having a similar style face to faces being represented as that of an individual. What is perhaps the most interesting is the changes in the portrayal of royal Egyptian families and the portrayal of Mary and baby Jesus. In both cases, the royal families, and Mary and Jesus were shown in extremely formal, stiff poses that completely lacked any form of affection. Then in both periods that changed to artists depicting the Amarna royal family interacting and showing affection to their children and Mary and Jesus embracing each other lovingly. The changes from conceptual artwork to art based on realism is also important. In both periods, artists evolved from following a basic formula to creating what they say in reality.

In both periods, the changes in art had lasting effects. Images of King Tut have more realistic features which make him easily distinguishable as a boy king. Given that the arts of Ancient Egypt affected surrounding areas such as the Greeks and Romans, it can be noticeable that this newer portrayal of realism filtered in to other countries. After the fall of the Roman Empire, all areas of life, including art, seem to fall back in on themselves. Artwork was transformed back into unrealistic portrayals almost as if people forgot how to use realism. However, just as is done in the Amarna period, the concept of realism makes its way back into art in the Gothic period. From there on, art only develops into more realistic images within the Renaissance that are not only reminiscent of the Romans and Greeks, but also to the realistic images of the Amarna period.