Narrative Art
Review for Non-Western Major
Class Test
Part 2
What is the PURPOSE of the
story?
–To entertain
–To persuade (propaganda)
–To teach religion
–To teach history
–To teach morals
–To explain the natural world
–To glorify (the ruler, a “hero” etc.)
HOW is the story told?
–A single scene (explain WHY that scene: Most
climatic moment? During some important action?
After the outcome of the story is resolved so we
see the “moral”?)
–Continuous narrative, where we see several
moments in the same frame
–Registers, where we see the story laid out like a
story board.
–Single long panel, like a frieze or the Bayeux
Tapestry
–Combination of text and images
HOW does the artist SHAPE the
viewer’s response to the story
and the figures in the story?
To make us ADMIRE the key figure(s) or see them
as HEROIC, the artist may use
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hieratic scale
Centrality in the composition
Higher relief, in relief sculpture
Idealization
Symbols
Power of gaze
Calm facial expression
Light falling on key figure
Superhuman characteristics (like multiple arms for
Indian deities)
HOW does the artist SHAPE the
viewer’s response to the story
and the figures in the story?
To make us see a figure as BAD, the
artist may use
• Distortion/exaggeration of figure, features,
expression, gestures
• Hieratic scale
HOW does the artist SHAPE the
viewer’s response to the story
and the figures in the story?
To cause us to see the story as
MIRACULOUS, the artist may use
• Hieratic scale
• Dramatic lighting
• Unrealistic elements (angels flying,
multiple arms, a baby being born from its
mother’s side, flying elephants, etc)
HOW does the artist SHAPE the
viewer’s response to the story
and the figures in the story?
To communicate the MOOD, the artist
will use
•
•
•
•
•
•
Balance/imbalance
Chaos/order
Symmetry/asymmetry
Facial expressions, gestures, and stances
Color
Lines
Good vs. Evil:
• Hindu sculpture of Durga Defeating the
Buffalo Demon/Gentileschi, “Judith
Beheading Holofernes”
• Hindu sculpture of Durga Defeating the
Buffalo Demon/Bernini, “David”
• Hindu sculpture of Durga Standing on the
Buffalo Demon (AFTER she’s killed
him)/Donatello, “David”
Miraculous Birth:
• “Queen Maya’s Dream” (being
impregnated with the Buddha by the White
Elephant), 2nd BCE, central
India/Campin’s “Annunciation,” central
panel of Merode Altarpiece, 15th c
• “The Birth of the Buddha,” Gandharan,
2nd c./ Geertgen Tot Sint Jans, Nativity,
1490
War:
• Hindu bas relief on temple wall, “Durga
defeating The Buffalo Demon,” south
India, 7c CE; Picasso, Guernica, 1937
• Akkadian, Victory Stele of Naram-Sin,
~2200 BCE and Picasso, Guernica, 1937
OR Goya, The Third of May, 1808, 181415
How does this
work of art
convey that
particular
culture’s
notion of what
constitutes
narrative?
How does this
work of art
convey that
particular
culture’s
notion of what
constitutes
narrative?