La 120 - Art Differences

Caroline Hood

LA 120

12-17-2016

Art Differences

Introduction

There is no arguing with the fact that there exist different types of art. Art is a part of people’s lives and is present in many cultures throughout the world (Hartt 6). Ancient Greek Art is unique because of its naturalistic but idealized depictions of the human body (Heller 11). It is also important to mention that early Italian Renaissance artists and classical greet artists were more similar than they were different. One common theme in ancient Greek artworks and early Italian Renaissance artwork is that of violence (Hartt 21; Heller 14). For instance, violence is the central theme in the Fallen Warrior from the Temple of Aphaia (an ancient Greek sculpture) and Hercules and the Centaur Nessus (an early Italian renaissance sculpture). In other words, even though these two artworks were made in different periods, they both revolve around the issue of violence.

Fallen Warrior from the Temple of Aphaia

It would be imprudent to proceed to use the theme of violence as a yardstick to compare and contrast the two artworks mentioned above before giving a brief overview of the artworks. That said, the Fallen Warrior from the Temple of Aphaia (shown below) is an ancient Greek Sculpture that was found in a temple on an island known as Aegina which is located in Greece. This sculpture is assumed to have been created in 510 BC. It is a sculpture that can be described as expressive in nature, as it shows a warrior, who even in the face of death, is still courageous (Tyson 1). One would be forgiven to think that the dimensionality of this artwork is not extravagant. It is this dimensionality that helps viewers to identify the plight of the warrior and his desire to survive.

[pic 1]

Hercules and the Centaur Nessus

Hercules and the Centaur Nessus is an early Italian Renaissance sculpture created by Michelangelo Buonarroti. Michelangelo is included in the list of the greatest sculptors of the sixteenth century (Laterza 1). A simple look at this sculpture (as shown below) shows why Michelangelo is seen as one of the greatest sculptors in history. That said, this sculpture was completed in 1599 AD. It represents the powerful or strong evocation of a man’s strength. This sculpture unlike other sculptures, focuses on beauty rather than emotion. It is important to mention that this sculpture is based on Greek mythology (Heller, 38). The material used appears to be a stone or marble carved into a sculpture that captures even the smallest of details. As it can be seen from the two sculptures discussed above, they are more similar that they different. With this in mind, the next section looks at the differences and similarities between these two sculptures.

[pic 2]

Comparison between the Fallen Warrior from the Temple of Aphaia and Hercules and the Centaur Nessus

Similarities

Although these two artworks were made ages apart, they share some similarities. In fact, one would be forgiven to assume that they were created by the same artist. To reiterate, both sculptures revolve around the theme of violence. In the Fallen Warrior sculpture, anyone can see that the person depicted in a soldier who has been injured. The helmet and the shield on his hand show that this is a warrior who is in a fight but is now injured. In the face of death, this soldier is still courageous, and if his facial expressions are anything to go by, this is a soldier who is determined to fight to the death for a cause that he believes in. The violence depicted in this sculpture gives the impression that the soldier is participating in a dangerous fight.

Similarly, violence in the Hercules sculpture is undoubtedly one of the main themes. In this sculpture, the artist puts a lot of emphasis on small details so as to show the extent to which Hercules and the Centaur Nessus spite each other. Both characters seem determined to win. It is the struggle of these two characters that show their determination to win the fight. The actions of the characters depicted demonstrate that they are violent beings. The artists that created both works put a lot of emphasis on body language and other small details so as to show the viewers the extent of violence and resilience that is characterized by the fallen warrior, Hercules, and the Centaur Nessus. For instance, in the Hercules sculpture, the man is shown holding some form of weapon which he is willing to use on the Centaur Nessus.

The second similarity is that the dimensionality of both works is extravagant (Laterza 1: Tyson 1). In other words, the artists of these two works utilize dimensionality, which is known to contribute to the overall design and effect of artworks. With the two artworks, any viewer can immediately identify the struggles of the characters, thus, get the impression that the theme being communicated by the artists of both works is the violent nature of human beings. That said, one is not out of order to make the claim that the artists responsible for these two artworks are able to develop sculptures that are expressive in nature (they express violence and hatred that men have for each other) by putting special attention on dimensionality and small details such as body language and bodily features such as blood veins.

Another similarity is that the materials used in both sculptures appear to be stones or marbles which have been turned into sculptures that give the impression that people are violent by nature. Another similarity is that the sculptures are muscular, which to some extent shows the unsubtle nature of human beings which can be blamed for the violence and hatred that exists in the world. It is important to mention that the fact that the sculptures are nude male figures should not come as a surprise to anyone because, for some reasons, ancient Greek art, and early Italian Renaissance art focused on depicting human bodies in naturalistic and idealized forms (Hartt 48; Heller 21). All in all, these two pieces of art are more similar than they are different.