Proportions- Midterm - Assignment for Ancient World Medieval Period PDF

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Assignment for Ancient World Medieval Period...

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Alfonso 1 Diamante Rosa Alfonso HUM 2211 Professor Proulx 20 May 2019 Proportions Through Time The “canon of proportion” is a term defined as, “a system based on mathematical ratios that was used by the Egyptians to create proportion in art when drawing the human figure[ CITATION Ter19 \l 1033 ].” Essentially, the “canon of proportion” served as a set of rules of measurement for the human body that was created by the Egyptians. Early art and culture, especially that of the Egyptians, served as a base for Greek art, and everything beyond that. As such, Egyptian and Greek art both contain many similarities, but also differ in many different ways. From the body to the facial features, Egyptian and Greek art compliment one another, but have key differences that reflect their respective cultures as will be discussed further on. Egyptian art served as a basis for the various different art forms that have come since then, and one of the things that was transformed was the way that the Egyptians viewed the body itself. In the statue of Mentuemhet, from Karnak, Thebes, the body is disproportional in many places[ CITATION Say15 \l 1033 ]. Starting from the bottom up, the feet are very thick in width, seeming as if they are huge or perhaps swollen. The legs themselves seem to be huge, perhaps even buff and full of muscle. As one moves their eyes up, the torso seems proportionate enough to depict an actual human being, but once the upper shoulders and neck is reached, the disproportion continues. The neck seems barely there, almost as if it is slightly elevating the

Alfonso 2 head. There seems to be enough space for someone to place their closed fist and measure it, which makes sense since that was the “canon of proportion” that was used. Once we get to the face, the sculpture now begins to reflect an actual human being with proportionate features. The eyes, wars, nose, and mouth are spaced correctly enough to seem “normal.” The Greek took inspiration from the Egyptians, and it seems as if it were almost perfected. In Doryphoros by Polyclitus, the overall appearance of the sculpture seems very lifelike and has many actual human aspects to it[ CITATION Say15 \l 1033 ]. Starting from the bottom up, the feet seem to be more proportionate and accurate to how feet actually look like, unlike in Mentuemhet where they seemed almost swollen. The legs are thick, but once again, have similar proportions to that of an actual human being. Unlike in Egyptian art, Doryphoros has knees and can be seen even from afar. As the eyes continue to shift upwards, we are able to see regular human thighs, thick enough for the person depicted to be considered well-nourished. Moving towards the arms and chest, the muscles are prominent and well portrayed in the sculpture, unlike that of Mentuemhet. The neck is spaced similarly to that of the Egyptians, as it seems like one is able to place a fist and it will fit just right. Finally, the face has more accurate proportions, such as the nose and lips. It seems like the nose for the ancient cultures was quite big in size, which is something that both Mentuemhet and Doryphoros share in common. Another thing that is worth mentioning is Doryphoros’ hair, which is something that was lacking in Mentuemhet. In Doryphoros, the change of cultures is something that could be spotted since he is depicted with his natural hair, unlike Mentuemhet that was depicted with an Egyptian headdress. As Egyptians progressed, so did their art, which is something portrayed in Nefertiti, from Akhenaten. The sculpture of Nefertiti portrays the upper body of an Egyptian queen in about 1348-1336 BCE[ CITATION Say15 \l 1033 ]. This sculpture seems to have been one of the

Alfonso 3 building blocks represented in Egyptian art. In Nefertiti, the queens’ features are portrayed sharp, yet smooth. The neck seems to have normalized, allowing for what can only be deemed as a “regularly-sized” neck. In this sculpture, the queens’ jawline is defined, and her face is proportioned very accurately. Lips, nose, and eyes are portrayed correctly, and this time, eyebrows have also been represented. The top of the artwork shows a headdress fit for a queen, oddly shaped, but can be seen as fairly accurate in regard to what it might have looked like. In this sculpture, the classic Egyptian “makeup” is represented, along with the full eyeliner and a coloring of the lips. Overall, the piece is smoother and depicts how the queen might have actually looked like and how she might have dressed. Alexander the Great, by Lysippus brings many different elements into its sculpture[ CITATION Say15 \l 1033 ]. In Alexander the Great, the features of the overall face are rounder, unlike the sharp jawline of Nefertiti. The lips depicted in the sculpture seem to be plump and once again, the culture change is reflected by Alexander the Great’s hair being depicted within the sculpture, once again the headdress missing. Although Nefertiti portrayed the queens’ eyebrows, in the Greek’s sculpture of Alexander the Great, the eyebrows have hair instead of being what can only be described as floating blocks. One thing that is worth mentioning is that within this sculpture, there is no make up being depicted. In fact, in many of the Greek sculptures, the beauty of the natural body is reflected, especially without clothes. Another thing worth mentioning is how detailed the sculpture actually is, even going as far as portraying the expression lines on the forehead of the sculpture. Overall, it seems like Alexander the Great captures the human body more accurately, from the lips to the expression lines, the essence of human features is beautifully portrayed in one single sculpture. A big change in Nefertiti and Alexander the Great is that in the Greek sculpture, human expression is portrayed pretty

Alfonso 4 accurately, unlike in the Egyptian Nefertiti, in which the queen seems to be almost stoic. This simple difference portrays how the Greek chose to implement the beauty of the human body within their various different artworks, including sculptures like Alexander the Great. As a final analysis, Egyptian art and its “canon of proportion” served as a base that led to perfection in the art of the Greek. In a sculpture of the body, Mentuemhet seemed to have disproportionate features that did not really reflect the natural human body. However, in Doryphoros, each muscle is portrayed in almost a perfect proportion that could not have been possible without the grounds of an Egyptian art such as Mentuemhet. Eventually, the Egyptians did portray more humanistic features in their art pieces, such as in Nefertiti, but those features seemed sharper and the Egyptians seemed to have perfected their own technique of proportion, since the queens’ face and features seemed more realistic. This led to further definition in the sculpture of Alexander the Great, where even expression lines were portrayed, and the overall features of the human body were perfected. The features, body part proportions, and overall the portrayal of the human body both can be traced back to having the same principle and ratios of the Egyptian culture that are represented in “the canon of proportions.” One can even assume that this early representation and rules of proportion have transcended time and are reflected in modern artwork in various ways.

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Works Cited Sayre, Henry M. The Humanities Culture, Continuity & Change. 3rd. Pearson Education, Inc, 2015. 20 May 2019. Terry, Dr. James. 2019. Stephens College. 20 May 2019. ....