Introduction
El, Canaanite creator deity is a Canaanite based renowned sculpture used to represent God. The sculpture is made of bronze in addition to a gold leaf. The statute dates back to the late bronze age that is, between 1400-1200 BC. The sculpture is found at Megiddo, stratum VII. To me the sculpture is an abstract representation of God as it is depicted by the hat and the beard in the statue and I tend to think the work of this art is complex as the statue holds a blossom using his single hand as he has lost the other hand. I think this is a representation of his background information of young age when his palm was facing outward. This makes the work complex as it calls for various interpretations.
The complexity and the seriousness in this art lie in the fact that the representation is a symbol of complex Canaanite religious issues. The Israelites in the Hebrew Bible are associated with complex family of gods under El, the recognized supreme god (Badawy, 2006 p. 108). The character in the sculpture is individualized and is intended to be didactic in nature. The sculpture as to the Israel based audience; it is appealing as it forms part of their faith. The sculpture is excellently conditioned though it lacks its right hand and forearm. The sculpture is composed on a symmetrical vertical axis running from the top to the bottom of the sculpture. The statue tells the sensitivity of the sculptor in presenting serious attitude towards the sculpture. Though, the sculptor relied on basic geometry in shaping the Statue the sideway shaping and the use of bronze shows that the sculptor intended a static and permanent statue. The head of the statue is a triangle and the rest are rectangles.
The sculpture is similar to Egypt ancient sculpture in that the artist’s subject towards the sculpture present is serious as the address religious issues. However, the two sculptures differ in that, unlike the Israel static sculpture the Egyptian sculpture is dynamic.
The sculpture takes a recognizable place in the audience emotions and attitudes. The sculpture is sacred in its purpose as it concerns philosophical ideology and religious beliefs of the Canaanite religion. The sculpture bears the patters and styles of fine craftsmanship and quality. Having the following understanding of the sculpture in mind the emotional feeling of the audience will be drawn to polite and obedient state. El in its linguistic analysis represents the chief god of the Canaanite El thus means God, El is familiarized with the one biblical known God. The linguistic aspect of El may take two meanings ‘the one” or “that”. The Canaanites refer to El as the creator of all living and non-living (Badawy, 2006 p. 84). The posture and the setting of the statue show that, the sculpture is highly recognized but inactive as it just seats (Badawy, 2006 p. 120). The sculpture also by holding the golden leaf means that, the statue depicts supremacy and it is depended upon by someone. It seats on the hall up on his mountain is the representation of its inactivity. The sculpture evokes a religious feeling and idea. It captures the minds of the readers and evokes their knowledge of religious belief. The religious belief is strengthened by valuables that have been put into place to mold the statue. The statue evokes a general feeling of recognition of the sculpture and the value that the sculptor associates with the statue. The sculpture expresses a common belief or demonization as the character is individualized. The sculpture generally expresses an individualized religious belief to the audience.
Works Cited
Badawy, Alexander. Architecture in Ancient Egypt and the Near East. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press, 2006. Print.
