Assignment 2. The building of the mosque or cathedral of Cordoba was initiated around 600-601 and was initially planned as Christian church of Visigoth kingdom, which ruled of the territory of contemporary Spain. Although it was meant to be Christian church, due to the Islamic conquest of 8th century and eventually subordination of Visigoth kingdom to Arab prince Abd al-Rahman, the building was divided between Christian and Muslim followers and was used by followers of both religions. In the next few centuries, the building was rebuilt and expanded in order to correspond to traditional requirements of a mosque. Today, it is catholic cathedral.
It is not the building itself that is a piece of art, but also its interior. The most famous is the prayer hall, which contains famous column arcade, created in white-red colors, using various shades of marble, onyx and granite. The color and shapes create the impression of endurance and grandness. Another example of artistic values is mosaics of the church, which used the finest materials available at that time, and depicted words of Allah together with some Roman myths, featuring god Neptune. Thus, this building contains traces of the art development over time.
Assignment 3. The first work of art is definitely inspired by Hagia Sophia because it uses the same style of art and tells the same story. In this regard, since Hagia Sophia can be viewed as a classic embodiment of the Byzantine art and aims at abstraction and alienation through open space and round forms, so does this work of art. Another evidence of inspiration is the two-dimensional technique of performance, not to speak about the choice of color and the image itself. The author is trying to show the whole grandness of the building and the epoch it represents.
The second work was inspired by the same building as my work of art and can see that immediately, because, unlike other buildings and subsequent works of art, this one is very light both in colors and performance technique. Just as the building argued for endurance and change over time, so did this work of art. It shows that some things remain the same, but the meaning of symbols might change. On the other hand, the stone remains, even if its creators are long gone. I think that the main reason why I see the inspiration of this work immediately is because I was inspired by the same building and in the same way.
Assignment 1.
Monotheism in Art
With gradual development of connections between various civilizations, one field of human creativity was influenced the most and thus can be used as the source of tracking historical development human civilization. This field is a culture which is depicted in material art. Just as the motives of the prehistoric people's art can be tracked through Greek and Roman arts, so Roman and Greek roots can be tracked in Christian and Byzantine in particular. On the other hand, art is also means to see that interconnection between West and East originated by Alexander the Great. In order to see the main features of the Byzantine art particularly mosaics, the classic Byzantine mosaic of Ravenna Italy is compared to the paintings of the Ajanta Caves in India.
Although it becomes immediately obvious that the main difference between two arts is their techniques, the comparison is more about the cultural significance of each piece of for the time of its creation and society. The main importance of both arts is that they serve the same purpose - to be an inspiration and teaching about deed of divinities. In the case of Ravenna, in Basilica San Vitale mosaics tell the story of the Christ and depict him with his apostles or a Redeemer on the mosaiced apse of the Basilica (Chatzedake 61). On the other hand, Ajanta paintings depict the main events from life of Gautama Buddha and some mythological elements of India history and beliefs. Thus, irrespective of different religions each art is devoted to, they both serve the same purpose - propaganda of certain thoughts, or rather beliefs.
Except for indoctrination of propaganda in art, the cultural significance of subject matters in both arts is actual transition of human civilization from polytheism to monotheism and indoctrination of the two of the world's major religions in art (Lawrence and Reich 75). In this context art as means for religious purposes became a matter of everyday life. From a strictly stylistic perspective, both arts share Ancient Greek admiration of color and its symbolical meaning. By the Ancient Greek is meant that Ancient sculptures of Greek Gods were painted in various colors (Behl and Nigam, 53). In case of the studied arts both of them showed diversity of colors from red to dark green. On the other hand, due to a higher development of technique and different types of art, mosaic of Ravenna is more colorful since gold and silver pieces (smalti) were made for the purposes of mosaics and to show halo around saints. The cave paintings, on the other hand, had to use natural colors applied through tempera technique (Powell 112). Thus, difference of colors' brightness was conditioned by technological aspect.
The aforementioned stylistic difference between two arts is actually the main feature which makes mosaic particularly a Byzantine form of art. Byzantine art was the beginning of the Middle Ages with their wide gap between the real world and divine one. In this context abstraction and alienation was achieved through lack of form and no attention to authenticity and details of realistic representation. Thus, it embodied the evolving Christian religion. On the other hand, the Indian caves preserved relative naturalism of description and realism of human life, which corresponded to Buddhist perception of life (Behl and Nigam 32). In this regard, unlike Christianity, it did not deny life its actual existence and form, but rather placed its own meaning into shape, form and details. In this context, presence of other living creatures except people and divinities is of particular importance.
Works Cited
Behl, B.K. and Nigam S. The Ajanta caves: artistic wonder of ancient Buddhist India. New
York: Harry A. Abrams. 1998. Print.
Chatzedake, N.M. Byzantine Mosaic. Rome: Ekdotike Athenon. 1994. Print.
Lawrence, S.C. and Reich, J.R. Culture and Values: A Survey of the Humanities. Boston,
MA: Wadsworth. 2009. Print.
Powell, J. Ancient Art. London: Thompson Learning. 1994. Print.
