Time Traveling
Time Traveling, Art Historian Book Chapters
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Time Traveling
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Time Traveling, Art Historian Book Chapters
My life so far has been wonderful, exciting, and beautiful because of my unique ability to
travel through time. The power of time-travel that I possess has let me explore the art of many
past cultures and civilizations. I have written a book which takes the reader on a tour of
Egyptian and Roman civilizations through their various arts and means of creation. It also goes
into the description and significance of the art that I saw in Italy during their renaissance period.
My book gives readers the means to identify parts of the cultural aspects of each civilization as it
relates to a particular period in time and its art. I analyze one piece of art from each civilization
that I discuss in my book. Art, at its most important, can record the past. It also stands as a
record of and the timeless quality of human creativity and its expressions of beauty.
My first trip in time for this research was to the civilization of Ancient Egypt. Their society
was one of the first and longest-running human civilizations in human history. Human art
history owes a lot to ancient Egyptian culture and the art that records it. Egyptians created art to
help themselves reach the afterlife easily and successfully, and to please their gods (2008). The
Egyptians were able to create art, in part, because their society was stable enough to let them.
Reflecting this, their art is concerned with reproducing and honoring form and order. Their
depictions were not realistic but instead concerned with their traditional religious beliefs. They
made metal works, buildings, sculptures, paintings, ceramics, and their famous hieroglyphics.
Their materials included granite, clay, wood, soft stones like sandstone, metal, and ivory. Their
art aimed to maintain their culture's important spiritual values. Egyptian art was, in turn,
influenced by the art and culture of the ancient Mesopotamians, who were the first known
civilization. Mesopotamian art tended to be pottery decorated with natural scenes, also reflecting
what was most important to their culture. Egyptian art was mostly placed, and later located,
among their burials.
Egyptian art reflects their religion and culture at this time. They made art for temples, the
Pharaohs and the royal family, and their gods. Normal people, who were neither gods nor
royalty, could not own art. This art was supposed to ensure benefits to the Egyptian people in the
afterlife. Art was usually created by the scribes, engineers, and craftsmen. Egyptian society was,
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pardon the expression, a pyramid of social hierarchy. At the bottom were the soldiers, farmers,
and tomb artisans. Next up were the craftsmen and then the scribes. The fourth level was the
engineers, doctors, and priests.
High priests and nobility make up the third level. The viziers
were the second level, and the Pharaohs were the highest social class. The people at the very
bottom were the servants and slaves.
My book spends a lot of time discussing form, beauty, and significance of the half-length
bust of King Tutankhamen. This is an image of the boy King Tutankhamen made of gilded
wood. The purpose of this piece was to worship and glorify him after his death. Archaeologists
found this bust in King Tutankhamen's tomb in 1933. Tutankhamen was alive for only ten years,
from 1347 to 1337 B.C. His tomb was filled with ornate and beautiful art, which was in the form
of replicas of the king himself as well as mementos of his family that he would want in the
afterlife. The burial site is a good example of the king's immense wealth, nobility, privilege, and
power. Clearly, there is no reason to make a tomb this ornate for anyone if the Egyptian people
did not value the afterlife. The bust does not depict the king's arm, and the meaning of this
disfigurement is ambiguous (Allen, 2006). It might mean that the boy king was not able to lead
the people, as his youth might have been too extreme and affected his abilities. An image of the
bust reflects the beautiful art created by the ancient Egyptian artisans at this time.
Half bust of King Tutankhamen.
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My next stop was to ancient Rome, during the time of the Roman Empire, to discover
their artworks. The Romans were responsible for innumerable beautiful artworks. Like the
Egyptians, their art also drew from the civilizations that came before them. The form and
tradition of Roman artwork was affected by the Etruscan and Hellenistic periods in their region.
During their time, the Etruscans dominated Italian culture. Roman art was also influenced by the
Greek art that they discovered at this time. This discovery began the Hellenistic art period. The
Romans created utilitarian and secular artworks. Their art was also useful, and not only
concerned with religious devotion. To this aim, they made paintings, portrait sculptures (like
busts), mosaics, free-standing sculptures, relief sculptures, and pottery. The Romans also
considered architecture and literature important. The Romans valued literal and realistic
expression above spiritual expression. The art, and especially mosaics, used the colors green,
yellow, red, black, and violet. The mediums of art and architecture of the time influenced each
other (D’Ambera, 2001). Before the Romans, art always had a spiritual and religious
importance. Roman were able to use art to decorate the interior and exterior of their buildings.
Their architecture used elements of domes, arches, and vaults. Their discovery of concrete gave
them much greater creative freedom in building design, and these buildings could be grander and
more complex.
Roman culture also relied on a hierarchical structure. Their society was made up of three
classes. At the bottom were the slaves, and the top was the free citizens. Important military and
political leaders made up the senatorial class. Below them was the knights and the mercantile
class. At the bottom were the proletarian. The proletarians were citizens who were neither
slaves nor landowners. Romans spoke Latin and went to public games like gladiator matches.
Military, statesmen, senators, landowners, and merchants could own art, but slaves could own
neither art nor land. The wealthy financed art for decoration and entertainment. Art was also
created to be given to Roman leaders. Again, religion and spirituality did not play a major role in
the design or creation of this art. They made art from things like marble, bronze and other
metals, wood, granite, and clay. They also commonly used concrete.
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The art piece that I am describing I found while traveling through ancient Rome. It is
Pompeii's Temple of Jupiter. Around the middle of the 2nd Century B.C. the building was created
to honor Jupiter, the king of the gods. Jupiter ruled over all of the gods and the entire universe,
and this was his temple. This was a major temple at this time, a religious center for Rome and a
forum for meeting and discussion. Today, the parts remaining of this temple can be found in
Italy. It was nearly all together until Mount Vesuvius erupted in 1979. Only a hollow shell of the
temple now remains. This temple is an example of the fantastic architecture that the ancient
Romans created.
Temple of Jupiter
I enjoyed traveling through the fascinating civilization of ancient Rome. My next stop
was the Italian Renaissance. The Renaissance was characterized by breathtaking, plentiful art.
The most popular mediums of this time were architecture, paintings, and sculptures. The modern
art world still uses and admires the methods and ideas of the Renaissance, proving that
Renaissance artist still inspire into the future. Artists were elevated during the Italian
Renaissance as important figures in art and culture. Their social class gained respect. Their art
was realistic and tried to represent its subject properly. The art was influenced by mathematics
and the principles of three dimensions. Many famous artists were artists and scientists. For
example, Leonardo Da Vinci and Piero Della Francesca brought scientific technique to artistic
creation. During this time, artists perfected how to use light and shadow to give their flat work
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the impression of three dimensions. Making an artistic system of methodology let art scholars
and historians pass on their skills to young artists. Their art and architecture drew on the earlier
examples from the Roman Empire. They made buildings that were elaborate, ornate, and grand,
with design elements like huge columns, arches, and domes.
Artists made art for their wealthy patrons. Wealthy people commissioned art to adorn
their homes and churches. Because of this, the art could be secular or religious. Christianity was
important and made religion the center of most major art works, but non-religious work was
possible and occurred often. During this time the city of Florence had the most money. This is
part of why this city was a center of art's rebirth (Hooker, 1996). Their art included paintings,
sculptures, tapestries, and hug murals, as well as architecture, literature, and music. Though
some works were non-religious, they were often still based on Christian beliefs. Art with
Biblical themes, Jesus, angels, and the Virgin Mary was more common than secular art. Artists
were also intrigued with classical human anatomy. Their art was creative but realistic. They
used marble, bronze and other metals, ivory, granite, oil paint, and wood. This era is considered
the home of many of the world's most important artists. We still study these artists today.
I chose the mural-ceiling of the Sistine Chapel because I greatly admired it while
traveling through this time. Michelangelo's Creation of Adam is a single scene on a beam across
the Sistine Chapel's ceiling. This ceiling has nine different Biblical scenes from Genesis, painted
by Michelangelo, over the course of four years. This scene shows God giving Adam, the Bible's
first man, life. These scenes are both to honor God and to show how man was created in his
image. God's fingers meet Adam's fingers, and Adam's reflection is exactly like God's own
image. Michelangelo, one of mankind's greatest artists, painted it in 1511, after a commission
from Pope Julius II. It still decorates the Sistine Chapel and remains preserved. This
reproduction does not do justice to the majesty of this artistic creation, it must be seen in person.
Creation of Adam
References
(2008). Art of Ancient Egypt. Retrieved January 21, 2010 from
http://www.visualartscork.com/ancientegyptian.htm
Allen, S. (2006). Tutankhamen’s Tomb: The Thrill of Discovery. Retrieved January 25, 2010
from http://www.artmusejournal.com/tutankhamentomb-thrill-of-discovery.aspx
Burke, P. (2009).The Italian Renaissance: Cultural and Society in Italy. Princeton University
Press. Princeton, New Jersey
D’Ambra, E. (2001). Roman Art. Retrieved January 27, 2010 from
http://www.artarchives.comromanart.html
Hooker, R. (1996). World Civilizations: The Italian Renaissance. Retrieved January 22, 2010
from http://www.wsu.edu/dee/reassaince/timeline.htm
Meshberger, F. (2007). The Creation of Adam. Retrieved January 28, 2010 from
http://www.wellcorps.com/files/TheCreation.pdf