Ancient Humanities

The following sample essay on “Ancient Humanities”: I plan to take you through the ancient times with a journey with art. We will start in the Mesopotamia where you can see the Cuneiform writing which was the first form of known writing. They had a belief in Polytheism which I the belief in many Gods. It was their belief that the Gods power flows through the king. The next step would be to go to the Ancient Egyptian. They developed a style of writing called Hieroglyphics which is one of the earliest forms of writing.

They also believed in polytheism and sacrifices at the time of burial. They buried their dead king are called Pharaohs in tombs called Pyramids. The Pharaohs are considered to have a sacred kingship. When we get to Ancient Greece (classical) that is called the Bronze Age (2500 – 1150 B. C. ) their religious belief is at the height of Polytheism that is the belief in many Gods. The ruler in this time frame was King Minos who was the King of Minos, they make they make their home of the Island of Crete.

The artisans were very skillful in frescos and figurines and vases.

Minoans worshiped freedom and equality of women. The Mycenaean’s inhabit the city of Mycenae c 1600 – 1150. The culture was a warriors and pirate culture. Like the Egyptians they believed in life after death. Another part of their history would be the Trojan war. Our next step will be the Dark Ages (1150 – 900 b. ,c. ) Early Greeks (8th Century b.

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c. ) The Minoans and Mycenaean’s was the base of their civilization. The had a belief in Polytheism and had anthropomorphic belief that the Greek Gods were shaped like humans. They did do sacrifies but only animals.

Theology the making of gods is a synthesis of Greek Belief also Philosophy was also invented here also. Then we move to Ancient Rome (735b. c. ) where the Etruscans we engineering arches, they also believed in polytheism. Julius Caesar the first dictator Octavian Agustus. Greek puls Hellenism and practicality were all parts of Roman culture. They started public altars and satues of emperor also during that time the coliseum was being built. The next part of our time line will bring Monotheism (the belief in one God) and then we see a new vision of how to look at the way are is done.

Iraq, Nimrud Ashurnasirpal II and a Winged Deity, 883-859 BC Relief; Sculpture; Stone, Gypseous alabaster, 90 3/4 x 83 in. (230. 5 x 210. 8 cm. ) Purchased with funds provided by Anna Bing Arnold (66. 4. 3) Art of the Middle East: Ancient Department. Currently on public view: Hammer Building Room 308 Assyria, Nimrud Deity Performing Ritual Purification, circa 870 B. C. Relief; Sculpture; Stone, Gypseous alabaster, 90 3/4 x 83 in. (230. 51 x 210. 82 cm) Purchased with funds provided by Anna Bing Arnold (66. 4. 5) Art of the Middle East: Ancient Department.

Currently on public view: Hammer Building Room 308 These massive carved stone panels are from the lavish Assyrian palace of King Ashurnasirpal II, at Nimrud, in what is now Northern Iraq. The images and writing you see served as powerful political propaganda, meant to inspire awe and fear. The King himself is in the center panel, wearing a cap, with a bowl atop his fingertips. By picturing himself among these semi-divine beings, he asserts that the gods themselves have anointed him to rule on earth. The cuneiform writing across the center of each panel spells out the same bold inscription.

It reads, in part: [I am] Ashurnasirpal, the obedient prince, the worshiper of the Great Gods, the fierce dragon, the conqueror of all cities and mountains to their full extent, the king of rulers, who tames the dangerous enemies, the [one] crowned with glory, the [one] unafraid of battle, the relentless lion, who shakes resistance, the king [deserving] of praise, the shepherd, protection of the world, the king whose command blots out mountains and seas, who forced into compliance the relentless, fierce kings from the east to the west at his very approach.

Assyria, Nimrud, palace of Ashurnasirpal II Eagle-Headed Deity, 833-858 B. C. Relief; Sculpture; Stone, Gypsum, Height: 88 in. (223. 52 cm) Gift of Anna Bing Arnold (66. 4. 4) Art of the Middle East: Ancient Department. Currently on public view: Hammer Building Room 308 These massive carved stone panels are from the lavish Assyrian palace of King Ashurnasirpal II, at Nimrud, in what is now Northern Iraq.

The images and writing you see served as powerful political propaganda, meant to inspire awe and fear. The King himself is in the center panel, wearing a cap, with a bowl atop his fingertips. By picturing himself among these semi-divine beings, he asserts that the gods themselves have anointed him to rule on earth. The cuneiform writing across the center of each panel spells out the same bold inscription. It reads, in part: I am] Ashurnasirpal, the obedient prince, the worshiper of the Great Gods, the fierce dragon, the conqueror of all cities and mountains to their full extent, the king of rulers, who tames the dangerous enemies, the [one] crowned with glory, the [one] unafraid of battle, the relentless lion, who shakes resistance, the king [deserving] of praise, the shepherd, protection of the world, the king whose command blots out mountains and seas, who forced into compliance the relentless, fierce kings from the east to the west at his very approach. Artist Name: Unknown Title: Osiris

Date: New Kingdom (1550 – 1070 BCE) Place Made: Egypt Collection Area: Egyptian Art Medium: Wood with gilding Dimensions: Height: 22 1/2 in. (57. 15 cm) Credit Line: Mr. and Mrs. Allan C. Balch Fund Osiris, the mummiform ruler of the dead, wears the insignia of Egyptian royalty: the tall crown of Upper Egypt, the uraeus (cobra) headdress, a false beard, and, now lost, a crook and flail. Images of Osiris were placed in tombs as symbols of resurrection Artist Name: Unknown Title: Figurine of the Goddess Wadjet Date: 26th Dynasty (circa 664 – 525 BCE) Place Made: Egypt Collection Area: Egyptian Art

Medium: Bronze Dimensions: Height: 13 in. (33 cm) This elegant, striding bronze figure represents the goddess Wadjet, protectress of the king and tutelary deity of Lower Egypt. One of several Egyptian goddesses depicted with the head of a lioness, Wadjet is identified in this example by the dedicatory inscription on the rectangular base. The preserved portion of the text also includes part of the donor’s name and parentage. This figure probably was dedicated as an offering in a temple, and in addition may have served as a container for the remains of a sacred animal.

Artist Name: Unknown Title: Artist’s Trial Piece Date: Late Period, 26th Dynasty, reign of Amasis or later (circa 570 – 525 BCE) Place Made: Egypt Collection Area: Egyptian Art Medium: Limestone Dimensions: Height: 14 in. (35. 56 cm) Credit Line: William Randolph Hearst Collection Currently on public view: Hammer Building Room 303 Artist Name: Python (attributed to) Title: Bell-Krater with (A) an Elderly Satyr (Papposilenos) Followed by Young Dionysos, and (B) Two Wreathed Youths Date: circa 350-325 B. C. Place Made: South Italy, Paestum Collection Area: Greek and Roman

Medium: Ceramic Dimensions: Height: 15 in. (38. 1 cm); Diameter: 14 5/8 in. (37. 15 cm) Credit Line: Willilam Randolph Hearst Collection On south Italian vases the wine god Dionysos is almost invariably depicted as a long-haired, athletic young man. On the front of this vase the god advances across uneven terrain at night, his way illuminated by the torch carried by a small, old white-haired satyr, who hurries along with a full wineskin slung over his shoulder. They are on their way to a drinking party, and in anticipation of their arrival, Dionysos holds out his cup.

Below the satyr is a small altar. Flanking the pictures front and back are slender half-palmettes, ornamental hallmarks of the Paestan style of vase painting. The two clothed youths on the reverse are standard too, as are the heavy dot-stripe borders on their garments. Andrew J. Clark, (2008) Artist Name: Python (attributed to) Title: Bell-Krater with (A) the Centaur Chiron Accompanied by a Satyr and (B) Two Youths Date: circa 350-325 B. C. Place Made: South Italy, Paestum Collection Area: Greek and Roman Medium: Ceramic Dimensions: Height: 15 1/4 in. 38. 74 cm); Diameter: 14 5/8 in. (37. 15 cm) Credit Line: William Randolph Hearst Collection On this vase a centaur is depicted traveling in the company of a diminutive satyr. The torch held by the centaur indicates that the scene takes place at night. Centaurs are part human and part horse, and more often than not, they are depicted as uncouth beings. This centaur appears distinctly human, however, and it may be that he is either Chiron, the wise centaur who tutored the hero Achilles, or Pholos, another civilized centaur.

Whoever he may be, the centaur’s torch and the presence of a satyr suggest that they are going to a nocturnal Dionysiac revel. Except for Chiron and Pholos, centaurs were notorious drunks who could not hold their liquor. Artist Name: Unknown Title: The Hope Athena Date: 2nd century A. D. Roman copy after a Greek Original of the 5th century B. C. Place Made: Italy, Ostia or Rome Collection Area: Greek and Roman Medium: Marble Dimensions: Height: 86 in. (218. 4 cm) Credit Line: William Randolph Hearst Collection Currently on public view: Ahmanson Building Room 318

Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and war waged for just causes, wears a breastplate decorated with heads of gorgons, the monsters whose piercing gaze turned to stone everyone whose eyes they met. The statue was excavated at Ostia, the port of Rome, in 1797. The hollow eye sockets suggest that the eyes originally were inlaid. This Athena is a Roman copy of a Greek original, the so-called Hope-Farnese type of Athena, named after LACMA’s statue, which was once owned by Thomas Hope, and the other fairly complete version in Naples, which came from the princely Farnese family. Mary Levkoff, 2008) Excerpted from Hearst the Collector. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: Abrams, 2008 Dressed in a chiton and sumptuous mantle, her chest protected by an aegis, Athena may once have looked at a small figure of Nike on her right hand while supporting her left arm on a lance. She stands in the purest classical contrapposto, but since the forms of her body are entirely concealed under the garments, this is conveyed by the system of drapery folds. The helmeted head, once crowned by a sphinx and two griffins, was carved separately.

The Hope Athena gives her name to a sculptural type that is based on a Greek work of 430–420 BC and relates to the famous Athena Parthenos by Pheidias. The Athena was excavated together with the Hygieia (cat. no. 110) in Ostia, the ancient port of Rome, and the two statues were sold together at the Hope collection sale in 1917. They were numbers one and two, respectively, in Hope’s catalogue of his own collection. Hearst acquired them later, at separate sales in the 1930s, thus reuniting two works of art that were probably displayed together in antiquity.

He was definitely aware of their Hope provenance, if not their ancient context, since he also purchased a significant number of Greek vases that came from that English collection (see cat. nos. 99, 101–5). The Hope Athena and Hope Hygieia are clearly the most important and best-preserved Roman sculptures from Hearst’s collection. At one point the Athena was displayed in the Assembly Room at San Simeon’s Casa Grande, together with Antonio Canova’s Venus Italica (cat. no. 123). Hearst parted with the Athena only at the very end, donating her in 1951, the year of his death.

Jens Daehner, (2008) Rome, Roman The Lansdowne Bust of Athena of Velletri, 2nd century A. D. Roman copy after a Greek original of about 430-420 B. C. by Kresilas Sculpture; Stone, Marble, 42 x 33 x 19 in. (106. 68 x 83. 82 x 48. 26 cm) William Randolph Hearst Collection (49. 23. 1) European Painting and Sculpture: Greek and Roman Department. Currently on public view: Ahmanson Building Room 303 A colossal Greek statue of Athena that once stood at Piraeus, the port of Athens, inspired a number of Roman copies.

Its name comes from the best-preserved full-length copy, which was discovered at the site of the Villa Velletri, south of Rome, and is now in the Louvre. Fragments of LACMA’s sculpture were unearthed around 1760 by the Scottish antiquarian Gavin Hamilton. The bust has been reconstituted from them: the right shoulder, face, and part of the helmet are original. The remainder, including the snakes and the grimacing gorgon’s head, was carved in the eighteenth century. This extensive restoration was typical of the treatment of ancient fragments at that time. (Mary Levkoff, 2008)

Artist Name Skopas (attributed to) Title The Hope Hygieia Date 2nd century A. D. Roman copy after a Greek original of about 360 B. C. Place Made Italy, Ostia (? ) or Rome Collection Area Greek and Roman Medium Marble Dimensions 75 x 25 x 18 in. (190. 5 x 63. 5 x 45. 72 cm) Credit Line William Randolph Hearst Collection Currently on public view: Ahmanson Building Room 318 Culture Roman Excerpted from Hearst the Collector. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: Abrams, 2008 Hygieia, daughter of the healer god Asklepios, is represented feeding a large serpent from a dish in her hand.

This is the best-preserved ancient copy of a lost Greek statue of the fourth century BC—a type hence named after the Hope Hygieia—and was carved in the mid-second century AD, during the Antonine period. As with the Hope Athena (cat. no. 109), Hygieia’s eye sockets are hollow, indicating that her eyes were originally inlaid in a different polychrome material, such as colored stone or glass. When Hearst donated the statue to the Los Angeles County Museum, its appearance was essentially the same as it was when it entered Thomas Hope’s collection 150 years earlier.

The original marble restorations of around 1800—including the right arm, left hand, nose, eyes, and parts of the snake—were removed in the 1970s but reintegrated in preparation for the present exhibition. Jens Daehner, (2008) Paul Vredeman de Vries (1567 – 1630) Interior of Antwerp Cathedral, 1612 Painting, Oil on panel, Sight: 24 1/4 x 31 1/4 in. (61. 6 x 79. 4 cm); Framed: 31 1/2 x 39 in. (80 x 99. 1 cm) Gift of William Randolph Hearst (49. 17. 5) European Painting and Sculpture Department. Currently on public view: Ahmanson Building Room 319 Inexplicably attributed at the time of its acquisition to Peeter NeeJs the Elder (c. 578–1656) in spite of its prominent signature, this interior of a cathedral is by Paul Vredeman de Vries, an artist who—like his father, Hans—specialized in painting fanciful architectural subjects. Paul’s most famous works are large compositions probably commissioned by Rudolf II in Prague, where Hans and Paul worked in 1596 (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum). The Los Angeles panel, unlike the Vienna pictures, does not combine Italianate and Gothic motifs but represents instead the interior of a Gothic church loosely reminiscent of the Antwerp Cathedral.

It is likely that the figures were executed by another painter, a practice common to artists such as Vredeman de Vries, who specialized in the depiction of buildings. The figures in many of his paintings were the work of Dirk de Quade van Ravesteyn (active c. 1576–1612). To judge from the close timing of his purchase and donation of this painting, Hearst apparently bought it for the museum, not for himself, just as he did Achilles Discovered among the Daughters of Lycomedes by Jean Lemaire (inv. no. 49. 17. 16) and Supper at Emmaus by Filippo Tarchiani (inv. no. 49. 17. 3). Interior of a Gothic Church is included here as an example of Hearst’s acquisitions on behalf of the Los Angeles County Museum. J. Patrice Marandel, (2008) Jean-Antoine Houdon (France, Versailles, 1741 – 1828) Voltaire Seated, circa 1779-1795 Sculpture, Plaster, with vestiges of paint and terracotta slip, with metal supports; on modern painted wood base, Sculpture: 52 1/2 x 35 1/2 x 33 in. (133. 35 x 90. 17 x 83. 82 cm); Base: 34 x 45 x 37 1/4 in. (86. 36 x 114. 3 x 94. 62 cm) Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation (M. 2004. 5) European Painting and Sculpture Department.

Currently on public view: Ahmanson Building Room 330 Artist Name: Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn Title: Portrait of Dirck Jansz Pesser Date: circa 1634 Place Made: Holland Collection Area: European Painting and Sculpture Medium: Oil on panel Dimensions: 25 1/2 x 19 7/8 in. (64. 77 x 50. 48 cm) Credit Line: Frances and Armand Hammer Purchase Fund Currently on public view: Ahmanson Building Room 324 By 1634, when he traveled to Rotterdam and painted this portrait of the wealthy brewer Dirck Jansz. Pesser (1587–1651) and those of his wife, Haesje van Cleyburgh, and his mother, Aechje Claesdr. Rembrandt was recognized as Amsterdam’s most fashionable portrait painter. Here he employed the conventional oval format but used the undulating rim of the hat, the white ruff, and the carefully orchestrated shadows of Pesser’s face to create a lively image that appears to exist in real space. Artist Name: Georges de La Tour Title: The Magdalen with the Smoking Flame Date: circa 1638-1640 Place Made: France Collection Area: European Painting and Sculpture Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 46 1/16 x 36 1/8 in. (117 x 91. 76 cm) Credit Line: Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation

Currently on public view: Ahmanson Building Room 320 This painting by the French artist Georges de la Tour was made around 1638-40. De la Tour’s style reflects Caravaggio, an artist who used light in a very innovative way. He represented the light itself in the picture, and here De la Tour does the same thing. In this painting, the Magdalen is seated looking at a candle, and you see the shadows cast by that flame onto the figure and the environment. That which seems to us a very simple idea was a great innovation in the early part of the 17th century.

Many artists following the example of Caravaggio in Italy did this,and the style was also adopted in other parts of Europe. De La Tour’s work is very rare. There are perhaps only 50 paintings known to be by him in the world, and the painting at LACMA is one of the very finest examples. Georges de La Tour painted four versions of Mary Magdalene, the courtesan who was absolved of sin through her faith in Christ. Here she appears in retreat from the world, contemplating the suffering of Christ and her own mortality, symbolized by the skull that she cradles in her lap.

By turning her away from the viewer, using dramatic lighting, geometric simplicity, and monumentality, La Tour created an atmosphere of calm that emphasizes her penitence. Artist Name: Picano, Francesco; Vaccaro, Lorenzo Title: Saint Michael Casting Satan into Hell Date: 1705 Place Made: Italy, Naples Collection Area: European Painting and Sculpture Medium: Polychromed wood with glass Dimensions: 52 1/2 x 27 1/4 x 24 3/4 in. (133. 35 x 69. 22 x 62. 87 cm) Credit Line: Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation Currently on public view: Ahmanson Building Room 328 Artist Name: Unknown Title: Pieta Date: circa 1725

Place Made: Spain, Seville or Cordoba (? ) Collection Area: European Painting and Sculpture Medium: Polychromed plaster, macerated linen fibers, gesso- or glue-soaked fabric, wood, papier-mache, glass and other materials Dimensions: 45 1/4 x 44 1/2 x 33 in. (115 x 113 x 84 cm) Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Eugene V. Klein and Mary Jones-Gaston in memory of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Stone Jones, by exchange Currently on public view: Ahmanson Building Room 328 Artist Name: John Cheere Title: The Capitoline ‘Isis’ Date: 1767 Place Made: England Collection Area: European Painting and Sculpture

Medium: Painted plaster Dimensions: 76 x 23 x 18 in. (193. 04 58. 42 x 45. 72 cm) Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Archie Preissman Currently on public view: Ahmanson Building Room 305 Artist Name John Deare Title Judgment of Jupiter Date 1786-1787 Place Made Rome Collection Area European Painting and Sculpture Medium Marble relief Dimensions 58 1/4 x 117 1/4 in. (148 x 297. 82 cm) Credit Line Gift of Anna Bing Arnold Currently on public view: Ahmanson Building Room 305 John Deare, an English sculptor who spent his entire professional career in Rome, was commissioned by the Royal Academy to make this relief for an exhibition in 1787.

In style and subject matter it reflects the neoclassical taste for perfection. The philosophers of the Age of Reason believed that man and society, through the systematic study and emulation of both classical learning and arts, could return to a Golden Age paralleling that of classical antiquity. Deare’s relief embodies this ideal. In conclusion when we start with polytheism we know that it focus’s on the many gods and how it affected the way that art was make. Then how it move to monotheism. The way the culture will dictate how art was made and view throughout society.