Almost hidden away in LACMA’s Art of the Ancient Americas exhibit, among the intricate and sophisticated works of art from the ancient civilizations of Mexico and South America, is a small unassuming figure of a prominent Aztec deity – Xipe Totec. Xipe Totec is both god of spring and vegetation, as well as the patron of goldsmiths (Britannica). The Xipe Totec stone sculpture at LACMA stands at twenty-five inches high and ten inches wide and is carved from basalt by an Aztec artist from the Basin of Mexico around 1400-1521 (LACMA). Even thought the figure may seem modest at first glance, upon closer inspection the viewer can see a gruesome story quietly being told through exquisite Aztec sculpture. His name is translated as “Our Lord the Flayed …show more content…
Starting from the top, at the head, the viewer sees a fine line that traces the hairline, moving down in front of the ears, and down following the jawline. The ears themselves are carefully carved to show the folds of the ear, and at the earlobe on both ears is a small hole. Perhaps the holes were added to embellish the statue with earrings, although the true purpose for the ear holes is unknown. The face contains faint eyebrows, notably small and tight eyes, a swollen nose and the figure’s mouth, which resembles a wide toothy grin. The face itself is quite generalized and almost appears too simple and elementary. But, upon second glance the viewer can see what is actually being presented, which is the mask being worn on the costume wearers face. The tight eyes and the swollen nose are that of the of the sacrificial victim’s face, and the illusion of a grin comes from the outstretched withered lips of the mask on top of the costume wearers …show more content…
Even though the statue is rigid and stiff in posture, the humanity of the costume wearer shines from behind his gruesome costume. The artistry of the sculptor displays what a horrific but extraordinary honor it must have been to be chosen as a suit wearer. That is the beauty of viewing ancient artifacts, it allows a person to travel back in time for a moment and attempt to step into the mindset of past civilizations. This has the magical effect of truly connecting humans past and present, who otherwise never have been brought
During the Post-Classic period of Mexico, the Mixtec people accumulated a great amount of wealth, and became highly talented in artistry. The development of these art practices helped reflect on their political organization, religious practices, and social structure. In particular, Tomb 7 at Monte Alban has revealed a multitude of fascinating artifacts and remains from the Mixtec peoples. Tomb 7 at Monte Alban is one of the richest and most famous archaeological discoveries made in the New World (McCafferty and McCafferty: 1994) Along with a central noble figure and a few sacrificed servants, there lay many gold treasures, such as the famous Gold Pectorals, silver artifacts, turquoise mosaics, and fine jewelry (Coe and Koontz: 2013).These Gold Pectorals discovered both show the dedicated time it took to create such an intricate design, and significance it has to its
The Templo Mayor The Templo Mayor was the most important building to the Mexica peoples. Built in stages over many years, it was a place of worship, sacrifice and also played a significant social-political role to the Aztecs civilizations. Located in the center of Tenochtitlan, what was at that time the capital of the Aztec Empire, and now Mexico City, the Aztecs built an impressive Pyramid with twin temples. This temple has allowed us to have some insight into the lives of the Aztec people. Various people have committed years in attempting to discern these pyramids.
The small mask is a wood sculpture with pigment and were created around the late 19th to early 20th century. The masks were painted depicting anything from animals to human caricatures. The mask is symmetrical, “one of a kind”, and had lustrous curving surface that suggested clean healthy skin. Most of the masks represent an individual idealized by the Baule standards of beauty; a broad forehead, long nose, pronounced eye sockets, introspective, and peace. The portrait mask not only indicated beauty, but also refinement and desire to please others.
The Head of the Rain God housed at the Dallas Art Museum Introduction Tlaloc was one of the most important gods in Mesoamerica and has maintained an air of significance for archeologist and artist studying Pre- Colombian history. Tlaloc’s importance comes from him being revered as the god of rain, water and fertility for multiple Pre-Colombian communities. For example, the rain god was worshiped atop of Templo Mayor, which was one of the main temples located in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. The rain god is commonly depicted wearing large circular goggles over his eyes and with fangs protruding from his mouth.
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
Xiangdan Liang Art History 123 April 20, 2016 Formal Analysis: Dionysus Sarcophagus to Santa Maria Sarcophagus Sarcophagus with the Triumph of Dionysus and the Four Seasons, known as The Badminton Sarcophagus, a bathtub type stone-architectural-inscribed sarcophagus which displayed on the four black marble balls and the base that were designed for the piece by the English architect William Kent in the early part of the eighteenth century is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York. It is came from the collection of the dukes of Beaufort, at Badminton House, Gloucestershire, England.
The author mentions in his book that this sculpture represents The Mayans ideal of beauty and perfection, with its lively features, as a perfect description of its magnificence, and components noticeably in Maya workmanship during the Classic period 200 BC - AD 900. He embodies the horticultural cycle which is associated to the abundance of wealth and thriving. In this figure his hair is the silk of the cob and his hat is an adapted ear of corn. The sculpture was created in Copan, Honduras and it is made of limestone. Its dimensions are 89 cm height, 56.5 cm width and 30 cm depth.
The statue's looming and towering presence suggests the goddess's power and reinforces the viewer's awe-inspiring and impressive experience. As I viewed the statue of Hygieia, I was struck by its impressive nature and intricate details. The voyeuristic aspect of viewing a statue of a goddess who is not supposed to be seen naked added to the sense of awe-inspiring and powerful presence. I felt a sense of reverence for the goddess and the role she played in the lives of ancient
Knowing that I am an arts ' enthusiast, she searched for local events pertaining to art and stumbled across tickets to this event on the OMA websites list of attractions. The intended exhibit of the Antiques Vintage and Garden Show was a bit of a snooze and we ended up spending over two hours in the room designated for the Pre-Columbian art works instead, which happened to line up with the time period of the art works studied in this course of Art History. Through my experience at this exhibit it was revealed to me the importance of the natural world in every Mesoamerican cultures form of art. Specifically, this was proven by the fact that the materials utilized were part of each cultures stomping grounds, literally, in reference to clays and ceramics, also by the subjects and scenes depicted in such works revolved around the natural environment at hand, and lastly shown by the value of animal life depicted through their representation and symbolism. As we entered a small, yet brightly lit room we were overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of authentic Mesoamerican art works and
I see inscription on both sides of the statue. I have seen quite a few acient Egyptian statues and they normally look rigid, but not this one. Epyptian thought statues were a resting place for the soul. The the male in the picture had a much larger neclace around his neck than the female, this depicts that the man is of more stature than the female. The male had a scar on his belly and the female didn’t which depicts than sense of the defender of the household.
There are several cultures with rich history involving ceremonies with masks; meanwhile, masks have gained a negative connotation after years of popular culture’s misuse. In horror movies and dystopian novels, the usage of masks to symbolize mob mentality is common. This holds true even in Lord of The Flies, where Golding uses physical masks, i.e. camouflage, to express the children’s innate savagery and submission, whereas
“Grins and lies,” refers to how the mask functions, the mask smiles, showing happiness even when it is a fake and a lie. While describing how it feels to wear the mask, the speaker says, “With torn and bleeding hearts we smile” (4). He says this to show that on the inside they are suffering greatly, but they disguise themselves as smiling to show that nothing is wrong. This shows how the author feels while wearing his “mask,” and demonstrates to the reader how the speaker feels it is necessary to put up
Two vast legs of stone stand without a body, and near them a massive, crumbling stone head lies “half sunk” in the sand. The traveler told the speaker that the frown and “sneer of cold command” on the statue’s face indicate that the sculptor understood well the emotions (or "passions") of the statue’s subject. The memory of those emotions survives "stamped" on the lifeless statue, even though both the sculptor and his subject are both now dead. On the pedestal of the statue appear the words, “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings, Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” But around the decaying ruin of the statue, nothing remains, only the “lone and level sands,” which stretch out around it.
With it being only a couple hundred years old the statue does not have any missing parts and everything is intact from what is immediately visible to the eye of the viewer, the original marble (which I have not had the pleasure of viewing) may have intricate pieces missing,. Anacreon is holding both of the small infants which are the gods, Bacchus and Cupid, in his arms. All of their heads are looking down and it gives them a very dark shadow which is cast upon their faces, this could be considered slightly eerie because the faces are not quite visible, but looking at it from another angle you can see the smile on Anacreon’s face as he looks at the infant cupid sitting on his left arm, looking at the statue it
In every statue, there are unique features. All of these features have a symbolic meaning related to them. Also, they have important relations to the story of Buddha. In the very beginning, none of these statues even existed before.