The Guided Art Tour, Essay Example

While earlier on, Greek art seemed reminiscent of Egyptian art, with stylized portraits of individuals with somewhat off proportions, the later Greeks work show significant progress in their geometric and artistic abilities.  This progress allowed them, over time, to create stunning depictions of idealized figures that represented the nature of perfection and the divine nature of humanity in relation to the gods.

The stylized images of ancient Greek art represents the cultural importance that was placed in the idealized form in Greek Culture.  Through the expression of realism, symmetry, and idealized proportions, the Greeks created these artworks to express the notions of idealization that they held in their concepts of aesthetics.  These notions were essentially transferred to their artistic creations in an attempt to bring their idealized figures into the real world.

One example of this stylization can be found in the sculpture, “The Laocoon Group” which depicts a father and his children being crushed by a writing serpent.  This depiction represents a groups of statues that seem to be almost in motion.  Their struggle is a depiction of the humanitarian values that the authors were trying to convey.  In doing so, they were able to represent these idealized forms in a way that represents the importance placed on the mathematical form and geometric guidance of their principles.

Egyptian art is often associated with the ruling class of the country, which show various accounts of their rule.  In this way, this form of art is often deeply embedded in the historical events that occurred.  These pieces of work are, in fact, often accompanied by Egyptian texts that present historical accounts of the nation.  These texts were not only adornments to accompany the art, but often had political, social, and religious implications as well.  This represents the aspects of society that Egyptians often presented in their art.  The depth to which these facets of life were connected is evident in the subject matter that they express.

In this way, symbolism is an essential part of Egyptian art, the depictions most often representing much more than what a person could at first glance fully understand.  For this reason, the political and religious identities of the Egyptian people are expressed in the representations of their artwork.  The artwork was, in this sense, more political than aesthetic in regards to Egyptian culture.  The art often played a certain political or religious role in the way that it functioned.  In this way, the art was enamored in the institutions of the society, rather than simply being the whims of the various artists.

One example of this blending of art and historical, political, and religious context exists in the Magical stela, a work of art carved into a hard dark stone. This stela represents a religious tradition, as well as the blending of art and magical symbols.  A stylized figure stands in the center, surrounded by symbols and ancient runes.  Surrounding this center display, hieroglyphs are written that present a magical incantation or prayer that can be given at the alter.  By praying to this alter piece, people believed that they could be cured of disease and illness.  In this way, the political importance of the religions of the Egyptian people at the time can be understood.

The unique work of the ancient Aegean artists stems from the diversity of their cultures.  These cultures had depictions of animals and nature as well as intricate geometric forms in their incorporations of artistic expression.  These works were often adorned in households or on floors, where many could see their ornate designs. In this way, their artwork represented the wealth of their culture, as well as the importance that they placed on the aesthetics of their architecture.

While Cycladic and Minoan art was often abstract or simplified designs that represented the natural world, those of the Mycenae were beginning to represent the idealized abstractions of forms that they believed to be important. Furthermore, these depictions were often done in elaborate ways to demonstrate the importance of these abstractions. The importance was reflected in the way that these pieces of art are prolific throughout the homes of the individuals living in the society. With the rise of wealth, their interest in creative arts also rose, which caused them to build art into the core of their architecture.

The Female Figure is a Mycenaean fresco that represents this idealization of forms in a very abstract and ornate way.  The fresco, found inside a house represents the culture’s sense of aesthetic attachment to depicting the human figure.  These frescoes were designed to be depictions of everyday life.  In this way, the liquidity of art in their culture is expressed.  The fact that they portray everyday situations in a way that celebrates the unique attributes of their culture reflects the depth to which artistic expression was embedded in the culture itself.  This depiction of a female figure, furthermore, marks an aesthetic leap from depictions to animals and nature in celebration of the world and the gods to depictions of humans and individuals within society who are living their everyday lives.

Using the stylized representations in the same way as the Mycenaean artists, I created a self-portrait with basic pencil and paper design.  In this design, I decided to suspend realism in favor of stylizing those characteristics that I find important, as well as incorporating important symbols from everyday life.  In doing so, the portrait is somewhat blocky, but this forgoes realism for the idealization of specific traits.  In this way, I have created a self-portrait that represents myself as a modern person.

Works Cited

Female Figure. School of Art: OU. 2015. http://www.ou.edu/finearts/art/ahi4913/aegeanhtml/mycptg1.html

Magical Stela. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2015. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/50.85

The Laocoon Group. Crystal Links Greek Art. 2015. http://www.crystalinks.com/greekart.html.