Lecture 3 Art of the Ancient Near East (5) PDF

REVIEW: Prehistoric Art in Western Europe 1 1  Lecture Notes *REMEMBER* ARTH 100 Lecture Slides are intended to help you study. They are available on Moodle. However, to do well in ARTH 100, you must take very good...

REVIEW: Prehistoric Art in Western Europe 1 1  Lecture Notes *REMEMBER* ARTH 100 Lecture Slides are intended to help you study. They are available on Moodle. However, to do well in ARTH 100, you must take very good lecture notes in class. 2 Art of the Ancient Near East 3 3  Art of the Ancient Near East 4000 BCE – 334 BCE Focus on the area called Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia is the “land between two rivers” (the Tigris and Euphrates rivers) 4 4  Art of the Ancient Near East 4000 BCE – 334 BCE In 5000-4000 BCE, agriculture developed in Mesopotamia, the area between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. City-states developed between 4000 and 3000 BCE. Wealth and agricultural resources made Mesopotamia vulnerable to political upheaval. 5 5  Art of the Ancient Near East 4000 BCE – 334 BCE We will focus on different civilizations of the Ancient Near East. They are: Sumer Assyria Persia 6 6  Sumer refers the group of cities and city-states that developed along the rivers of southern Mesopotamia between 3500-2340 BCE. 7 7  8 8 Sumer Ziggurat - a stepped pyramidal structure with a temple on top Anu Ziggurat and White Temple, c. 3300-3000 BCE. Uruk (modern Warka), Iraq. Nanna Ziggurat, c. 2100-2050 BCE. Mud brick. Original height 20-30 m. Ur (modern Muqaiyir), Iraq. 9 9 Sumer Ziggurat - a stepped pyramidal structure with a temple on top Nanna Ziggurat, c. 2100-2050 BCE. Mud brick. Original height 20-30 m. Ur (modern Muqaiyir), Iraq. 10 10  Sumer Ziggurat - a stepped pyramidal structure with a temple on top Nanna Ziggurat. c. 2100-2050 BCE. Ur (modern Muqaiyir), Iraq. Reconstruction of the Nanna Ziggurat. c. Mud brick. Original height 20-30 m. 2100-2050 BCE. Ur (modern Muqaiyir), Iraq. 11 11  Sumer The ziggurat was the spiritual center of the city- state. Society ruled by priest-kings (who claim to rule in the name of the gods) Reconstruction of the Nanna Ziggurat. c. 2100-2050 BCE. Ur (modern Muqaiyir), Iraq. 12 12  Sumer The ziggurat was the spiritual center of the city- state. The ziggurat was a meeting place between people and their gods. Sumer was a society ruled by priest-kings (who claim to rule in the name of the gods). Polytheistic society Protector (patron) god of a city- state The Nanna Ziggurat at Ur was dedicated to the moon goddess Nanna. Nanna Ziggurat. c. 2100-2050 BCE. Ur (modern Muqaiyir), Iraq. Mud brick. Original height 20-30 m. 13 13 Sumer Invention of Writing 3200-3100 BCE - Pictographs – script created out of pictorial symbols for a word or phrase. and later 2600 BCE - Cuneiform – means “wedge shaped.” Cuneiform refers to a writing system created with a writing instrument (a stylus) that makes wedge-shaped marks. These marks are more abstract than earlier pictographs. They record a spoken language. 14 14  Sumer Clay tablets with cuneiform (writing) were housed in temples on top of ziggurats. Nanna Ziggurat, c. 2100-2050 BCE. Mud brick. Original height Reconstruction of the Nanna Ziggurat. c. 20-30 m. Ur (modern Muqaiyir), Iraq. 2100-2050 BCE. Ur (modern Muqaiyir), Iraq. 15 15 Sumer Votive Worshippers, c. 2900–2600 BCE. Limestone, alabaster, and gypsum. Height of largest figure approx. 76.3 cm. From the Square Temple, Eshnunna (present-day Tell Asmar), Iraq. 16 16  Sumer Watch the video and take notes. What does the video say are the physical and visual characteristics of this sculpture? Each student should make a list and then compare with group members. 17 17 Video: https://smarthistory.org/standing-male-worshipper-from-the-square-temple-at-eshnunna-tell-asmar/ Sumer Votive Worshippers, c. 2900–2600 BCE. Limestone, alabaster, and gypsum. Height of largest figure approx. 76.3 cm. From the Square Temple, Eshnunna (present-day Tell Asmar), Iraq. 18 18  Sumer Term: hieratic scale Term: artistic convention Votive Worshippers, c. 2900–2600 BCE. Limestone, alabaster, and gypsum. Height of largest figure approx. 76.3 cm. From the Square Temple, Eshnunna (present-day Tell Asmar), Iraq. 19 19  Art of the Ancient Near East 4000 BCE – 334 BCE We will focus on different civilizations of the Ancient Near East. They are: Sumer Assyria Persia 20 20  Assyria Around 1400 BCE, the Assyrians rose to dominance in northern Mesopotamia. Assyrian ruler - Assurnasirpal II (883-859 BCE) Assurnasirpal II established his capital at Kalhu (modern Nimrud, Iraq) and undertook an ambitious building program, fortifying the new city with mud-brick walls. 21 Assyria Assyrian ruler - Assurnasirpal II (883-859 BCE) Assurnasirpal II established his capital at Kalhu (modern Nimrud, Iraq) and undertook an ambitious building program, fortifying the new city with mud-brick walls. He decorated his palace walls with sculptural relief in alabaster stone. 22  Watch the video and take notes. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VCldg1TdHc&t=161s Assyria Assyrian ruler - Assurnasirpal II (883-859 BCE) Assurnasirpal II established his capital at Kalhu (modern Nimrud, Iraq) and undertook an ambitious building program, fortifying the new city with mud-brick walls. He decorated his palace walls with sculptural relief in alabaster stone. Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions, c. 875-860 BCE. Alabaster. Height approx. 99.1 cm. From the palace complex of Assurnasirpal II, Nimrud, Iraq. 24  Assyria Assyrian ruler - Assurnasirpal II (883-859 BCE) Term: narrative Term: low relief Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions, c. 875-860 BCE. Alabaster. Height approx. 99.1 cm. From the palace complex of Assurnasirpal II, Nimrud, Iraq. 25 Assyria Assyrian ruler - Assurnasirpal II (883-859 BCE) Term: dynamic (vs. static) Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions, c. 875-860 BCE. Alabaster. Height approx. 99.1 cm. From the palace complex of Assurnasirpal II, Nimrud, Iraq. 26 Visual Description – What do you see? 27 Assyria Assyrian ruler – Assurbanipal (687-627 BCE) Assurnasirpal had his capital at Nineveh (present-day Kuyunjik, Iraq). Assurbanipal and his Queen in the Garden, c. 647 BCE. Alabaster. Height approx. 53.3 cm. From the palace at Nineveh (modern Kuyunjik), Iraq. 28 Assyria Assyrian ruler – Assurbanipal (687-627 BCE) Assurnasirpal had his capital at Nineveh (present-day Kuyunjik, Iraq). Assurbanipal and his Queen in the Garden, c. 647 BCE. Alabaster. Height approx. 53.3 cm. From the palace at Nineveh (modern Kuyunjik), Iraq. 29  Art of the Ancient Near East 4000 BCE – 334 BCE We will focus on different civilizations of the Ancient Near East. They are: Sumer Assyria Persia 30 30  Persia Persian ruler – Darius I (521-486 BCE) Darius I and his people are known as the Achaemenids Darius I began to build the city of Persepolis (the capital of Persia) around 515 BCE. 31 Persia Air View of the Ceremonial Complex (including at right background the Apadana [Audience Hall] of Darius I and Xerxes I). 518–c. 460 BCE. Persepolis. Iran. 32  PBS How Art Made the World 3 Video: https://archive.org/details/HowArtMadeTheWorld1MoreHumanThanHuman.../How+Art+Made+The+World+-3- +The+Art+of+Persuasion.avi Persia Darius I began to build the city of Persepolis (the capital of Persia) around 515 BCE. There, he built his Ceremonial Complex, which includes the Apadana (Audience Hall). Reconstruction of the Apadana (Audience Hall) 34 Persia Stairway to the Apadana [Audience Hall] of Darius I and Xerxes I). 518–c. 460 BCE. Persepolis. Iran. 35 Persia Darius and Xerxes Receiving Tribute, c. 491– 486 BCE. Limestone. Persepolis. Iran. 36 Persia Sculptural relief on the stairway to the Apadana (Audience Hall) Darius and Xerxes Receiving Tribute, c. 491–486 BCE. Limestone. Persepolis. Iran. 37 Persia Sculptural relief on the stairway to the Apadana (Audience Hall) Darius and Xerxes Receiving Tribute, c. 491– 486 BCE. Limestone. Persepolis. Iran. 38 How do ancient Assyrian and Persian rulers use art to communicate differing messages about their power in these two relief sculptures? Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions, c. 875-860 BCE. Alabaster. Height approx. 99.1 cm. From the palace complex of Assurnasirpal II, Nimrud, Iraq. Darius and Xerxes Receiving Tribute, c. 491–486 BCE. Limestone. From the ceremonial complex of Darius, Persepolis. Iran. 39