Introduction
The artist’s biography plus the historical context to which an artwork is attached have great significance when it comes to formal analysis. Therefore, formal analysis not only describes the artistic principles incorporated on the artwork but also provides adequate information in terms of the scope and historical interpretation. As such, the analysis helps the reader envision the object in particular so that they may get the entire literature about the piece of art and its significance in the discipline. Among the essential elements, details under formal analysis include; the form, color, and style as well as the compositional ideas under interpretation. This report provides a comparison of two art pieces entitled the “Mithraic relief with Bull” and “Athena attacking the Giants”. The comparison focuses on the formal analysis to ascertain the artistic differences and similarities in stylistic elements and subject matter’s historical implication.
Discussion
“Mithraic Relief with Bull”
The “Mithraic Relief with Bull” is a legendary sculpture that not only presents a mastermind of artistic prowess but also has a rich history. The art piece was established in the first century, also known as the “imperial period,” about A.D. 125 – 175. The image of the sculpture is as shown below.
"Mithraic Relief with Bull." Cincinnati Art Museum. Accessed March 30, 2016. http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/art/explore-the-collection?.
As at the time of manufacture, the above art piece measured 65 x 85 cm (25 9/16 x 33 7/16 inches) Height x width. In focus to the form of the Mithraic Relief with Bull, it is made mainly of stone and some bronze. It shows a person slashing a bull in front of a dog. The person does the action using the raised right hand that holds the sword towards the bull’s throat. The overall surface remains superlative with a light-yellow patina of Pentelic marble. The form of the “Mithraic Relief with Bull” is special in its visuality as everything in the sculpture is clear to the viewer.
In terms style, the marble technique to form an image is utilized to come up with the Mithraic Relief with Bull sculpture. The marbling technique was a common artistic style during ancient. Unlike present day art, artists of the ancient days would use marble to carve portraits. Stone carvings dominated Northwest Italy’s streets. It took a bit of time until one could complete a piece of art through the carving technique. Also, as evident the color of sculpture is light yellowish. It forms the entire background of the image. Light yellowish is as a result of the marbles colors that the artist used as well as the color lighting being evenly spread across the entire piece of art.
Also, as suggested earlier, apart from the visual artistic components, the Mithraic Relief with Bull presents a lot of history to Italians of the Iranian origin. The portrait was built and stored as a vital element behind the Mysteries of the Mithras people. It symbolized culture and tradition of the Mithras which later increasing come to be a cult/religion. As inspired by the political arena, specifically the pagan senators in Rome, the cult dominated the entire period from the 1st to the 5th centuries. Temples of the Mithraic people had the sculpture at the doors. Most importantly, celebrations would be done across the region where the art of bull slashing was practiced. Although the tradition ended in the 5th century, the remaining of the Mithraic Relief with Bull at the Cincinnati Art Museum provides memories of the history to the current generation.
“Athena attacking the Giants”
On the other hand, the “Athena attacking the Giants” art piece is similar artistic piece when compared to the Mithraic Relief with Bull. However, the portrait represents a completely different history of the ancient time and tradition of the Etruscan, Greek and Romans. The sculpture presents a story detailing how the gods fought with the Giants, then, in the end, the crown went to Athena as the victor. Below is the image of the famous “Athena attacking the Giants” sculpture.
Stokstad and Cothren, “Athena attacking the Giants.”
In terms of form, it is evident that the sculpture stands similar to Mithraic Relief with Bull. Made at around 175 BCE, a stone and marbles were utilized to create the visuals. However, unlike the Mithraic Relief with Bull where only a bull, a dog and a person with a sword is seen, the “Athena attacking the Giants” sculpture shows images of several people holding each other as they struggle while fighting the evil forces.
Also, as evident, the artistic style incorporated in the “Athena attacking the Giants” sculpture is similar to that of the “Mithraic Relief with Bull”. As the artist(s) used marbles to prepare the sculpture everything else including the light-yellowish color that spreads the image is similar between the two art pieces. The reason for this similarity is because the two artworks were created almost at the same historical period where artistic work could only be done through the use of stones and marbles. As a result, all monuments present today including these two sculptures share a common background in terms of artistic elements.
However, the history contextual framework under which the “Athena attacking the Giants” sculpture portrays is a different one to the history of “Mithraic Relief with Bull”. The portrait presents the tradition of the ancient Iranian religion that was commonly referred to as “Mazdeism”. It was a religion practiced in the most part of the Eastern Europe where faithful would gather and view the portrait while worshiping. The portrait was sculptured on both sides to enable all people to have a clear view of it when worshiping. As a different cult to that represented by “Mithraic Relief with Bull”, the organization was based on levels of initiation. As the image suggests, the people would find relief after the struggle to fight with the evil. Therefore, there is an expression of violence, emotions and finally high relief after the victory. The cult spread to the ancient Greek. However, the scene of bull sacrifice later followed after the victory according to the Greek tradition. Today, the ‘Athena attacking the Giants’ stands to provide memories that the benefit of historians as well as artists of the current generation.
Conclusion
As discussed above, ancient artworks signify a lot to the evolution development of human beings. The description of artworks that are created from time to another not only shows the development of the discipline of art & architecture but also helps individuals to trace their history. For the “Athena attacking the Giants” and “Mithraic Relief with Bull”, their form, style and color aspects are similar. However, the two tell different stories of human traditions during the ancient days. Storing such portraits in museums, it marks the need for human to value their tradition and pass the message to the future generations.
Bibliography
"Athena Attacking the Giants by Layne Cohen on Prezi." Prezi.com. Accessed March 30, 2016. https://prezi.com/mpwn70wmpmmu/athena-attacking-the-giants/.
"Explore the Cincinnati Art Museum Collection." Cincinnati Art Museum. Accessed March 30, 2016. http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/art/explore-the-collection.
Stokstad, Marilyn, and Michael W. Cothren. Art History, 5th ed. New York: H.N. Abrams, 2013.
