Seated Boxer Visual Analysis

Each artistic style can be influenced by the previous period of time or the artist’s personal preferences. There are also many similar themes of athletic sculptures that were made in the different periods. In order to understand the similarities and differences in artistic styles and the meaning behind the sculptures, it is helpful to compare works of two periods, the Greek Hellenistic period and the early Italian Renaissance. The two sculptures are Seated Boxer from the Greek Hellenistic period and David by Donatello from the early Italian Renaissance. The meaning behind each sculpture is somewhat different. One reflects Greek idealism while the other one reflects a symbol of civic pride

The start of the period known as "Classical Greece" starts at around 800 B.C.E. and ends around 400 B.C.E. Classical Greece tells tales of Athens against Sparta, the Peloponnesian War. But that is only some of the events, as the achievements are a feat to behold. New branches of mathematics, such as geometry established new theorems, columns were prominently used in buildings of importance, and the first Olympics were first held to honor the gods and celebrate human achievement. The contributions of classical Greece are seen in Western civilization in the continuation of the Olympics, in the realistic depiction of subjects in various forms of art, in the development of medical ethics, in the architectural use of columns in the Western building

In the novel Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, the protagonist David’s obsession with maintaining a traditionally masculine façade is what leads to the demise of all of his relationships. David’s masculine presentation and insecurity over his own homosexuality are frowned upon by Western society in the 1950s, the novel’s setting. This general societal consensus leads to David’s internalization of homophobia, eventually leading to the ruin of his relationships with family, friends, lovers, and himself. Western society’s view of homosexuality and masculinity at that time is the primary reason for the expiry of David’s relationships.

Creating an amazingly life-like appearance to its sculptures, not only demonstrated, in my mind, a higher intelligence, but is defiantly a tribute to their focus on superior strength and fitness. Although the realistic style was soon changed to create an even more ideal human figure, the understanding of the human body and how to recreate it through art was only the beginning of Greece’s contribution to the “classical ideal.”

Traditionally, society views males as strong, aggressive, dominant and unemotional individuals while females play unimportant and demure roles within society. Sheila Morehead’s “At Seventeen” and Michael Wilding’s “The Altar of the Family” challenge this idea of masculinity and gender roles, “The Altar of the Family” especially does this as the protagonist of the short story is a young boy, David. David is constructed to challenge the stereotypes of masculinity and through this the author is able to push the message that being a man doesn’t mean you need to conform to these gender stereotypes and not conforming to the stereotypes doesn’t result in being a failure as a person. “At Seventeen” and “The altar of the family” are constructed to make you agree that being masculine doesn’t require conforming to male stereotypes. Both authors use characterisation, point of view, descriptive language and conflict to convey this opinion.

Sculpture specifically focused on both human potential and achievements, plus the human experience. Firstly, the Greeks often sculpted humans instead of animals or monsters, which is human-centered enough. When they did sculpt gods or goddesses, these deities were anthropomorphic, having human characteristics. Classical sculpture used nudity to depict the ideal human form; subjects were often young male athletes or soldiers, epitomizing human potential and achievement. Hellenistic sculpture was more realistic and emotional, where the subjects were everyday people; this style focused on the struggles included in the human experience. These two styles unite to represent Greek humanism through art. Architecture was built on the scale of Man, in an effort to complement humans, rather than dwarf them. Additionally, the columns themselves symbolized Man, in the idea that each plays a part in supporting the structure. Even the style of the columns suggested humanism, with a masculine and feminine style; Doric columns were sturdy, characterized by simple, undecorated tops, and therefore the “masculine” style. Ionic columns, in contrast, were thin and elegant, with decorated capitals, and therefore the “feminine” style. Sometimes, caryatids, or statues of girls, were used as columns, a humanistic practice in

Looking at both sculptures of David, there are some similarities which can be noticed. One of the clearest similarities is that both artists

The Seated Boxer, 300-200 B.C.E. is a work that may look as if the statue emanates power, but in actuality, emanates pity and sadness when examined more closely. This work of art was created during the Hellenistic era where Greek art displayed dramatic, detailed expression art. The Seated Boxer expresses this same sort of art from the Hellenistic era as the sculptor etched intricate details to the Seated Boxer from the details on its face, to its entire posture that it has been sculpted in. Greek classical art, such as The Warrior, has been known to display perfection of the works of art and emanates the theme of power from its posture to its expression that it displays. The theme of pathos is more associated with a somber theme, such as Epigonos, where the works of art evokes a sense of empathy from the viewers as they examine its details, emotions, and the general feeling it expresses. This theme is expressed further in works of arts when viewers themselves can feel sadness and pity from it. The Seated Boxer clearly shows and represents the theme of pathos as viewers who look at it can feel how it expresses sadness rather

The Greek sculptures reach the new height of beauty, not only because the mastery of the technique, but also the fascination of human body. Greek art uses the outer appearance to reflect the inner power, it is the representative pattern of western art. The myth inspires the creation of sculpture. The fantasy of nature and society and the admire of god’s shape and personality makes the sculpture more multiple and abundant. It is initiate the innovate art style and help the next generation that how to continued to shaped western art culture, such as Rome period and Renaissance period. Every sculpture is a story about gods, heroes, religions and culture in general, Rome even actually copies some of the art works just for showing his respect and love. Some of the sculptures we can see right now for the ancient greek, it is actually the copies during the Roman period. The timeless idealized art work

Renaissance was a humanism and individualism movement which rediscovered the classcial Greek philosophy to challenge the religious authority from the fourteenth century to the seventeenth century. For example, Protagoras said “Man is the measure of all things.” By creating exceptionally fine art, artists and philosophers found a way to detail the feature of human beings themselves. For instance, Michelangelo’s sculpture, David, was a mastepiece difficult to imitate even today, showing surprising details of a sturdy man. Da Vinci’s The Last Supper, still leaving mysteries, today, particularly highlights the characteristics of people of different emotions. All of the works show

The Manly Art tells the story of boxing 's origins and the sport 's place in American culture. The book was first published in 1986, the book helped shape the ways historians write about American sport and culture, expanding scholarly boundaries by exploring masculinity as an historical subject and by suggesting that social categories like gender, class, and ethnicity can be understood only in relation to each other. In 2010 it was republished and features a new afterword, the author 's meditation on the ways in which studies of sport, gender, and popular culture have changed in the quarter century since the book was first published. An up-to-date bibliography ensures that The Manly Art will remain a vital resource for a new generation.

In both sculptures the hair is deeply carved and is a vivid feature of the busts. The detail of realism in David’s left hand we can see his veins on his hands when he is holding the slingshot and his ribs near the chest. In the bust of Commodus we can see the similar detail of his hands especially the joints above the knuckle area and how realistic it looks when he’s holding the apples and Hercules club on his. In both busts chest, arms and face are sooth. In both busts these sculptures have the portrait of emperor Commodus and the small town hero David as musculant where as in real life they weren’t this is done because Romans believed that the god made us humans and by showing David and Commodus as being musculant hey are portraying them as gods and God were portrayed to be musculant and strong. This is also to show power and strength of them and compare them to the gods in their skills and intelligence. This shows how people respected David and Commodus and hot they treated them like god like humans. They both have small lips, moth. In both busts the lips/mouth are shut. This can show how silence is more powerful than words as it’s seen in their action. Both David’s and Commodus’ eyes are pretty similar as they both have eye bags underneath their eyes. David’s eyes are in more detail and are more carved, drilled into the marble when compared with Commodus. Both of them are looking away from the audience with their head slightly tiled up to show power and their place in the society. Commodus is looking/glancing to his right whereas David is looking to his left and it seems like he is concentrating as his eyebrows and forehead has slight wrinkles also is eye bows are cringed together in both of the busts we can see muscles and when David is holding / grabbing the slingshot. They are portrayed as being healthy and

Even though the ivory relief has a religious overtone, both are clearly done in the Old and New Rome classical esthetic. “Cast in glittering bronze, like the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius set up nearly 500 years earlier, it attests to the continuity between the art Old and New Rome, where pompous imperial images were commonly displayed at the apex of free standing columns” (Kleiner 258). Both art pieces are a classic example of power, prestige and clemency during their time of

Each sculpture shows the creativty between the two artist. The sculptures tells a story as well paints a picture. They both depicts the thrower about to release his discus. The torso shows the muscular description in motion from other sculptures. They show humanism which characteriz mankind of society. The thower is showing perfect form that allows the viewer to watch the throw be a success. The body and technique demonstrate perfection in its back and legs.

Bust of Marcus Aurelius 161-180 AD made of marble. Capitoline Brutus, 300 BCE made of bronze. The theme shared is Imperial theme Heroism. Both art works honor important Roman people, from different social backgrounds, who were honored for their bravery. Bust of Marcus Aurelius gives off a graceful appearance while the eyes show vigor. The bust depicts Marcus Aurelius as the perfect rule, the “philosopher king”. He wears a cuirass (military tunic and cloak). Capitoline Brutus gives off a serious business-like expression that makes you believe it is an honorary sculpture. Bust of Marcus Aurelius displays a more standard Roman sculpture and his face has softer details. Capitoline Brutus had the characteristics of Italic and Greek sculpture styles