Crowned head of an oni

Throughout human history, a vast amount of artwork has promoted, popularized, or propagandized governments as well as those who lead them. Art has depicted war and helped shape our reaction to it.

Art has also celebrated peace.

10.3 Menkaure and His Wife, Queen Khamerernebty, Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, c. 2600 BCE. Slate, approximately 4' 6 1/2" high. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

This early portrait of the royal couple displays the equal status of Menkaure’s wife Khamerernebty, who passes on the Pharaonic succession through her

offspring.

10.4 Emperor Justinian and His Attendants, Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, c. 547. Mosaic on the north wall of the apse. Canali Photobank.

Emperor Justinian and His Attendants - Justinian dominates, just as he dominated the Byzantine Empire:

→ he occupies the center between clergy and military and state leaders

→ as emperor - wears a purple cloak and a jeweled crown

→ as priest - carries golden bowl with bread → solar disk behind his head indicates divine status

The Emperor dominates the center of the composition, representing his power over the

military and the Church. → flanked by 12 figures, alluding to Christ and

the apostles

→ the clergy hold sacred objects: a crucifix, the Gospels, an incense burner

→ a soldier’s shield displays the Chi-Rho, an ancient symbol of Christ.

10.5 Crowned Head of an Oni, Wunmonije Compound, Ife, Nigeria, 12th–15th centuries. Yoruba. Zinc, brass; smaller than life size. Museum of the Ife Antiquities, Ife, Nigeria. This delicately detailed portrait of an early African ruler expresses a sense of calm,

security, and poise.

In west-central Africa, the head alone carries the qualities of a ruler.

The Crowned Head of an Oni represents a ruler:

→ naturalistic style → sense of calm and serenity → beautiful flowing features,

an idealized royal portrait

→ crown, a royal insignia → lines on the face indicate

scarification a beaded veil

→ neck rings similar to those worn by the Yoruba

10.6 Jayavarman VII, Cambodia, province of Siemreap, Angkor region, late 12th or early 13th century CE. Bayon style. Sandstone head, 41 cm × 25 cm × 31 cm. Muse des Arts Asiatiques-Guimet, Paris, France.

The portrait of the last and most powerful King of the Angkor Empire and the Khmer people displays his contemplative mysticism after his conversion from Hinduism to Buddhism. His turned-down eyes and

gentle smile became known in Khmer art.

Jayavarman VII, last king of the Angkor Empire (in present-day Cambodia).

A military leader, he conquered invaders, fought rival states, known for building projects, including the Temple of Bayon at Angkor Wat.

In this portrait, Jayavarman VII chose to be represented as a mystic.

His face is softly modeled with eyes down turned in meditation, and his gentle smile became famous in Khmer art.

10.7 Cloak and Feather Hat, Hawaii, 18th century. Museo de America, Madrid, Spain.

10.8 Mesquakie Bear Claw Necklace, Tama, Iowa, USA, c. 1860. Otter pelt, grizzly claws, glass beads, silk ribbon, 16 1/4" long, 14 1/4" wide, 3" high. Photo archive of the National Museum of the

American Indian.

For the Mesquakie people, grizzly bear claws were signs of high status.

The grizzly’s nails were difficult to acquire and considered a great trophy.

The Mesquakie Bear Claw Necklace represented: → strength → tenacity (of the bear) → dignity (of the owner)

10.9 Leni Riefenstahl. Triumph of the Will, Germany, 1934. Film. Kobal Collection. Adolf Hitler commissioned this film in order to glorify his rule, military strength, and the Nazi order of Aryan Supremacy.

In 1934, Adolf Hitler commissioned the film Triumph of the Will to glorify: → his rule → his military strength → the Nazi order of Aryan

supremacy

Riefenstahl’s film established Hitler as the first media hero of the modern age.

Riefenstahl’s film affected future political campaigns and lay the foundation for consumer advertising.

10.14 Jules Hardouin Mansart and Charles le Brun.

Hall of Mirrors, Versailles, France, c. 1680.

Palaces have the following qualities:

→ grand size → lavish ornamentation → height → prominent artwork (adds symbolic content)

10.10 Lamassu, Khorsabad, Iraq, 720 BCE. Limestone, 14' high. Two of these huge sculptures dominated the palace gate to Khorsabad, the Assyrian capital. It was meant to terrify and intimidate all those

who entered.

The brutal and ruthless Assyrians, dominated the Near East for more than 300 years.

Lamassu sculptures guarded the palace gate, to terrify and intimidate all who entered.

The winged Lamassu is part lion or bull, with the head of a human being.

The horned crown symbolizes the king’s divine power.

10.11 Persepolis, general view, (Iran), 559–330 BCE. Persia This awesome palace complex consisted of many structures, including hypostyle halls. These halls contained many carved columns that

supported their roofs. The palace of Persepolis, in ancient Persia, is a fortified

citadel located on a terraced platform. Interior spaces were large, wide hypostyle halls, carved

columns supported the roofs. The windows were made of solid blocks of stone with cutout

openings. Stairs were also chiseled from stone blocks and then fitted into place.

The Royal Audience Hall was 200 ft. square and 60 ft. high and held up to 10,000 people.

100 tall columns supported a wood-beam ceiling (visible in the right background). On top were elaborate capitals with curving scrolls and foreparts of

bulls or lions. Some had human heads. A grand staircase, was covered with images depicting subjects

presenting tribute to the king.

10.12 Palace at Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico, 514–784. Maya. This complex featured four courts, each surrounded by rooms and galleries, which were likely used for administrative

purposes. Like the Persians, the Mayans of Central America created

large palaces with high platforms and relief sculpture.

Palenque was the center of one of several successive empires in Central America.

Several thrones were found within the galleries. The 72 ft. tower added important verticality to the horizontal design.

Large tower windows facing the four cardinal points may have had both astronomical and defensive uses.

10.13 Imperial Throne Room, in Hall of Supreme Harmony, Forbidden City, Beijing, China.

Chinese royal architecture supported the emperor’s claim to be the Son of Heaven, father of the people, and the one who maintained Heaven on Earth.

The palace had 9,999 rooms and no commoners were allowed.

The high ceiling is covered with elaborate patterns.

The focus is the throne, framed by columns and elevated on a stepped platform.

10.14 Jules Hardouin Mansart and Charles le Brun. Hall of Mirrors, Versailles, France, c. 1680. The grand spaces, dramatic embellishments, and theatrical display of this palace were

designed in the Classical Baroque style.

Built by Louis XIV, the palace of Versailles was a sign of power and an instrument for maintaining that power.

The Hall of Mirrors is 240 ft. long, ceilings covered with frescoes, embellished with bronze capitals, sparkling candelabra, and jeweled trees.

CONNECTION At Versailles, Louis XIV stripped the nobility of their power, so they occupied their time in games of romance and intrigue, as in Fragonard’s The Swing

(Fig. 13.25, page 388).

Louis XIV moved his entire court from Paris to Versailles in order to control them.

Louis XIV dominated the church, nobility, and peasants, and controlled the arts, fashion, and manners.

10.15 Olowe of Ise. Palace Sculpture, Ikere, Nigeria, 1910– 1914. Yoruba. Wood and pigment, 60" × 13 1/4". The senior wife stands behind the enthroned king, giving her high status for her

procreative power.

The Palace at Ikere, provides another example of artwork that symbolizes kingly power.

The Palace Sculpture shows the queen, standing behind the enthroned king.

Women are revered for their procreative power, the female towers over the king, she is the source of his power.

His crown is topped by a bird, symbol for female:

→ reproductive power → ancestors → deities

10.16 Charles Barry and A. W. N. Pugin. Houses of Parliament, London, 1840–1860. 940' long. This seat of government structure was designed in the Gothic Revival style, breaking away from the popular Neoclassical style at

the time.

Charles Barry, the architect, used the Gothic Revival style. A. W. N. Pugin was responsible for ornamentation.

Both felt Gothic Revival was appropriate for a Christian nation.

The building resembles a medieval church or a castle, visually housing Parliament in a metaphor of the church with the strength and power of the government.

10.17 Te Papaiouru Marae, Maori Meeting House, Ohinemutu Maori Village, Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand, late 19th century. This important structure was an elaborate version of the chief’s house and a site for

reaffirming tribal values and clan ties. New architecture evolved on New Zealand in response to political

and social needs. In the19th C., the Maori nation changed radically as a result of European colonization.

The Maori Meeting House, represents the body of a powerful ancestor, and, once inside, the living became one with their ancestor.

The sculptures on Maori meeting houses are visually overwhelming.

These carvings, with swirls, lines, and frightening imagery empower clan members, intimidate outsiders.

The carvings represent mythical first parents and the tribe’s history.

10.18 Arch of Titus, Rome, Italy, 81 CE. Marble on concrete, 50' high, 40' wide. This structure both illustrates and commemorates

Titus’s victories and his apotheosis (becoming a god).

The Arch of Titus built by Domitian, to record his brother Titus’s apotheosis.

→ engaged columns have Ionic and Corinthian elements

→ the uppermost section is inscribed

→ Winged victories in the spandrels symbolize Titus’s military successes.

Under the vault, one relief depicts Titus being carried up to heaven on the back of an eagle, a visual image of his deification.

10.19 Andrea del Verrocchio. Equestrian Monument of Bartolomeo Colleoni, Italy, c. 1483–1488. Bronze, 15' high. Campo Ss. Giovanni e Paolo, Venice. The statue of this warrior mounted on horseback represents his fearsome victorious power.

Equestrian Monument of Bartolomeo Colleoni joins the horse’s power with the rider’s strength and determination.

The 15 ft. statue is raised on a high pedestal, viewers are vulnerably placed under the horse’s raised hoof.

The animal’s tense, bulging muscles, Colleoni’s twisted pose, and scowling face are the embodiment of aggression.

10.20 Tula Warrior Columns, Mexico, 900–1000. Toltec. 16' to 20' high. These tall and stable totem-like guardian figures

supported the roof on an elevated temple base.

In the Toltec city of Tula in central Mexico, colossal Tula Warrior Columns stand on a temple platform atop a pyramid.

The 16 to 20 ft. tall figures held up the temple roof; symbolically they supported the religion.

The warriors wear Toltec garb, elaborate headdresses, each hold pear-throwers at their side.

The warriors’ attire functions to increase their power and prestige.

The warriors uniformity gives the impression of a formidable

army that could crush anything.

10.21 Plaque with Warrior and Attendants, Nigeria, 17th or early 18th century. Benin. Brass, 19 1/4" high. Peabody Museum of

Architecture and Ethnology.

Plaque with Warrior and Attendants depicts a Nigerian warrior king.

The king:

→ is larger than attendants → displays classic African

figurative proportion

→ wears apron and shield with leopard imagery, a regal symbol

→ dominates the composition with spear, helmet, and shield*

→ presents a frontal, symmetrical composition, conveys absolute authority, power, strength

→ displays an aloof face *Often, armor and weapons were protection for both

the body and the spirit.

10.22 The Great Wall, China. Construction began during the Qin Dynasty in 206 BCE, with major work occurring during the Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644 CE. Brick faced, average height 25', 1,500 miles long. This enduring war fortification is considered

a “wonder of the world.”

The Great Wall Strategically placed

watchtowers contained embrasures for cannons and were used as signal stations---smoke by day, fires by night.

The brick-faced wall averages 25 ft. in height and width, and it creates a light- colored, undulating line for 1,500 miles.

10.23 Palette of King Narmer, Egypt, c. 3000 BCE. Slate, 25" high.

Symbolism: → horizontal fish above a vertical chisel, pictographs for Narmer → 2 images of Hathor, the cow goddess, the king’s protector → he is larger because of his status → right, Narmer, wears the tall white crown of Upper Egypt

→ a servant carries his sandals, bare feet suggest a divine event

→ falcon represents Horus, god of Upper Egypt, standing triumphantly on a head and papyrus, representing Lower Egypt

→ bottom register, dead prisoners → left, Narmer wears the cobra crown of Lower Egypt as he inspects

beheaded enemies

→ intertwined necks of beasts may represent unification of Egypt.

10.23 left, Palette of King Narmer, Egypt, c. 3000 BCE. Slate, 25" high. 10.24 right, Burning of the Sanjo Palace, from the Heiji Monogatari, hand scroll (detail), Japan, Kamakura period, late 13th century. Ink and color on paper, 16 1/4" high, 22' 9" long. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Compare the battle depictions in the Palette of King Narmer with a painting of a battle that occurred during the Kamakura era in medieval Japan.

The country was convulsed by civil war and two invasions by the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan.

Warfare and artistry were particularly interwoven at this time.

10.25 Mathew B. Brady (or staff). Dead Confederate Soldier with Gun, USA, 1865. Civil War photograph. This photograph is one image of many taken during the Civil War in North America, the first war to be photo documented in world

history. Nineteenth-Century Battle Scenes" Before the camera artists had license to exaggerate or even

fantasize about the battles and warriors.

Along with romanticized photographs of war heroes came horrific battlefield scenes, such as Dead Confederate Soldier

with Gun by Mathew B. Brady

The first to photograph war, Brady made 3,500 photographs covering both sides of the U.S. Civil War.

Brady often arranged props, such as the rifles, to enhance

both the composition and the sense of tragedy.

10.26 Red Horse. Battle of Little Big Horn, USA, 1880. Sioux. National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. The depiction is a Native American’s version of this historic battle."

Battle of Little Big Horn, painted by the Sioux artist Red Horse, presents the Native American version of Custer’s last stand.

Sioux warriors advance from the right. Custer was defeated, the dead and wounded from both sides occupy the bottom of the image.

Red Horse stacked figures above each other to show the chaos and detail of battle.

10.27 Sergei M. Eisenstein. The Battleship Potemkin, Russia,

1925. Film stills.

Eisenstein used many cinematic devices:

→ full views → extreme close-ups → panned shots → iris (blurred edges) → traveling → flashback → crosscutting

Eisenstein’s strength was his editing.

He used a rapid form of montage that allowed the viewers to piece together the narrative

from fleeting images.

Quick-cut images capture the feeling of terror, panic, and chaos.

10.28 Pablo Picasso. Guernica, Spain, 1937. Oil on canvas, 11' × 28' 8". Prado Museum, Madrid. Institut

Amatller d’Art Hispanic Guernica dramatized the 1937 destruction of the Basque

capital during the Spanish Civil War.

German Nazi planes bombed the city, which burned for 3 days and left more than 1,000 people dead.

Horrified, Picasso immediately made sketches for the painting, blending aspects of Surrealism with Cubism.

Symbolism:

→ the bull represents Fascist Spain, doomed to be tortured and suffer a slow, inevitable death

→ the gored, dying horse is the Spanish Republic → the fallen soldier holding the broken sword represents

the spirit of resistance

→ other heads represent shocked witnesses to the carnage → the electric light bulb shaped like an eye suggests that

the world is being shown its inhumanity.

Picasso said, “Painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war for attack and defense against the enemy.”

10.29 Felix W. Weldon. USA Marine Corps War Memorial, Arlington, Virginia, USA, 1954.

Cast bronze, over life-size.

Weldon’s bronze sculpture:

→ is larger than life → is grand → is dramatic → depicts soldiers forming a

triangle, indicating strength-solidity

→ has numerous diagonals suggesting haste

The past blends with the present, as every day, a real flag is raised and lowered on the memorial.

Compare the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (left), 1982, by

Maya Lin with Weldon’s Marine Corps Memorial.

10.30 Maya Ying Lin. Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C., USA, 1982. Black granite, 492' long; height of wall at center, 10' 1". A reverent and quiet space, the shrine wall contains the names of 58,000 men and women who died

in the Vietnam War. Vietnam Veterans Memorial → names of 58,000 who died, in chronological order → polished granite reflects faces of the living-superimposes them on

the names, forcing a personal connection

→ family, friends make rubbings of the names, leave remembrances → visitors meditate or mourn rather than celebrate.

The lack of glory made the Memorial very controversial.

The long, V-shaped memorial is set with one end pointing to the Washington Monument, symbol of national unity, the other pointing to the Lincoln Memorial, remembering a nation divided by civil war.

This reflects the national anguish over soldiers who died in a war which the general population was ambivalent.

10.31 Eddie Adams. Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan summarily executing the suspected leader of a Vietcong commando unit, Saigon, South Vietnam, February 1, 1968. This brutal and blunt photo showed a reality of the Vietnam

War in U.S. publications. Magazine and newspaper coverage brought the

realities of the war into U.S. homes, as seen in this war photograph taken in 1968 by Eddie Adams.

Its harshness contrasts severely with romanticized images of war.

Art About Peace The Peaceable Kingdom is based on a biblical passage.

Edward Hicks was also inspired by William Penn and his treaty with the Indians, (visible in the background).

This moment came to signify a utopian new world.

10.32 Edward Hicks. The Peaceable Kingdom, USA, 1830–1840. Oil on canvas. 17 7/16" × 23 9/16". Brooklyn Museum of Art. A passage from the Bible (Isaiah 11) inspired the Quaker artist to express a message of peace in this

work. Hicks’ visual metaphors are standard for the

concept of peace:

→ luminous sky → lush vegetation → animals rendered in imaginative style → feeling of innocence and peace

10.33 Ara Pacis Augustae, Rome, 13–9 BCE. Marble; outer wall, 34' 5" × 38' × 23'.

Carved foliage, fruit garlands symbolize:

→ the golden age of plenty → fecundity → ripeness → peace (all under the rule of Augustus) Ara Pacis celebrates the peace of the Roman Empire, and a

monument that glorifies Augustus.

10.34 Moctezuma’s Headdress, Mexico, c. 1319. Aztec. Quetzal and cotinga

feathers, gold plaques. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Art and gifts are often exchanged to seal peace treaties.

Precious objects may show submission or given to avoid further confrontation.

Moctezuma’s Headdress was given to Cortés as a peace offering or a last measure to avoid Moctezuma’s demise.

10.35 Presentation Pipe Tomahawk, USA, c. 1820. Ottawa. Wood, inlaid metal. 23 1/2" × 8". The Detroit Institute of Arts. Ironically, this weapon was superbly crafted only to

be given as a peace offering, never for use in battle.

Native Americans created tomahawks and pipes to use for peaceful exchange.

The Presentation Pipe Tomahawk is meant to be presented as a ritual peace offering.