The statue of Asklepios was formed in Greece during the Hellenistic period in the 2nd century B.C. The statue is a scale of art that combines different artistic skills and styles to bring perfection. The sculpture shows a headless statue of a human with various elements on the body of a human. The main and observable element is the intertwined snake to the right and left sections of the body of a human. The art in the statue is amazing that leaves a room for exclusive analysis of the artistic elements to understand the meaning of the statue in a deep way. Every artistic element leaves room for the excellence of the statue and makes it extremely attractive to understand.
The Asklepios statue is a representation of the Greek God of medicine as well as patron of physicians. The statue contains elements that define the real meaning of the statue. There are unique elements that the artist combined to bring the actual and the real meaning of the piece of art. The real meaning of the art is a combination of various elements that define excellence of any art.
The attractiveness of the statue is following proper use of anatomical as well as geometrical lines. The statue has unique context and iconography that makes it attractive to analyze. The statue is a combination of slender lines. For example, through proper use of lines the artist manages to rest the Asklepios weight bearing hip on his right hand through combination of varies lines. Also, the artist succeeds in portraying exclusive body folds and planes through development of contrasting line directions to show the exclusive twists that show motion (Asklepius 01).
Color is the other element that makes the statue an attractive piece of art. The main colors in the statue are gold and ivory color while the iconography contains ochre and browns of gold. The light and moisture in the statue make some of the golden color to fade. The color is a unique representation of the art to the religion that was present at the time.
For proper representation of the features of the sculpture, the artist uses the space and balance element accordingly. Following the use of the element, the ancient sanctuary of the Asklepios is formed. The space in art should be maximally used to bring forth proper or close understanding of the artwork. The features of the statue fit accordingly to bring the intended meaning.
The statue could not have been as attractive as it is without proper consideration of shapes or forms. The art is an indication of exclusive knowledge on the use of shapes or forms in bringing up the deep meaning of the god in representation by the statue. The art combines various shapes and forms to bring out the physical components of the statue. There are various forms that make the artwork very attractive (Asklepius 01). For example, the snake image is the proper use of form in artwork. There is the exclusive combination of charismatic and exegetical elements.
In addition, the statue goes into details of bringing meaning to the viewer. The success of the art in achieving an exclusive depth comes with the proper combination of the right features that would define the excellence of the statue. The physical elements of the Asklepios goes into the extent of explaining the intimacy and closeness that exists between the emperor and the gods. The depth of the statue can only be understood through proper analysis of its meaning (Sylvan 52).
Light is an exclusive and reliable element of art. It is usually fundamental in illuminating objects and making them easily visible. In the Asklepios statue, there is the proper mix of the golden and grey color to make the object easy to view. The light in the statue is well displayed to show all the features of the artwork. The lighting of the statue is clear through the colors that the artist used in the preparation of the piece of art.
The significance of the elements mentioned above as descriptions for the statue, are proper combinations to the exclusive figure of the statue and the meaning it carries. The elements interact to form an exclusively attractive statue that defines sense of art.
The statue is clear in showing that there are human elements evident in the piece of art. The elements are evident through proper combination of shapes, lines, and color. The human figure is a proper combination of the lines that are supposed to curve the different parts of the body. The curves, which represent lines show the different parts of the body of a human being leaving a room for proper understanding of the components of the statue (Asklepius 01).
Unless the physical features of the statue were clear, it could have been extremely hard to define the components of the statue. The color adds perfection onto the statue (Sylvan 51). With close view of it, the gold color and ivory color are clear explanations that the statue contains a human being who is headless (Bailey 01). The understanding gives room for proper or close analysis of the statue to understand the exclusivity of the message that the artwork tries to define.
Also, it is evident that there is a snake in the statue. The artist comes up with proper use of lines and combination with texture to define the uniqueness in of the piece of art. The image of the snake is clear through proper use of lines in the form of curves to bring the snake image into visibility in the art (Bailey 01).
The color that the artist uses makes the snake observable leaving room for one to think critically about the statue. The snake is a major image among the Greeks. It portrays an exclusive definition of certain beliefs in the region. Therefore, the artist succeeds in fashioning a reliable statue that describes the significance of the snake in the society.
The texture of the snake and the rest of the statue is an indication of toughness of the elements in the description. There are numerous signs of excellence in the statue. The texture and size of the snake in the statue is proper representation of the snake in the life of the Greeks (Bailey 01).They believe in exclusive toughness of the snake. It is a symbol of power.
The colors of the snake in the sculpture are excellent indications that the snake is respected as a symbol of honor. The colors are attractive in nature, which shows the significance of the snake. It goes around the body of the Asklepios, which affirms that the human being in the statue could have been the controller of the snake. He holds control of the snake (Bailey 01). Therefore, an individual could be the leader of the community in representation.
A combination of lines and texture in artwork is proper identification of the complexity of the objects in the piece of art. The artist is keen to employ exclusive lines that make it easy to identify the various parts of the body. As a result, he manages to bring forth exclusive view of the body parts. For example, the hands of the Statue of Asklepios are strong, which is evident from the masculine or thick curves used in carving the statue. The thick curves succeed in showing that the person in the statue was an individual with exclusive power (Bailey 01). The texture affirms the toughness of the person.
Mass and volume would relate with the depth of the statue in further explanation of the statue. Mass and volume would be significant in identifying the region that the individual who appears to be extremely powerful controls. Already the person is huge, and he occupies a reliable volume, which is the proper indication of the territory that the Asklepios controls (Asklepius 01). The power of the human being is wide in the region.
Also, the observable snake in the statue may be proper indication of the power that the individual has over other creatures. He is a super person. The snake is mainly known to be poisonous, but it comfortably coils on the statue. That is further indication of how harmless such creatures would be under the supreme power (Bailey 01).
If the analysis goes further, it will be easy to analyze the effect of a headless statue. The head is the proper indication of life. Therefore, the view of the statue at this status could indicate the inexistence of the supreme being in the sculpture. However, the power of the snake seems to be still in existence in the society.
The development of a statue includes proper utilization of all elements that would be relevant in making the sculpture attractive. There must be a proper combination of elements such as color, shapes, lines, texture, space, and volume among others. The elements define an object by attaching meaning to their combinations. The artist to the Asklepios statue succeeds in coming up with a reliable combination to make the statue easily understood.
Works Cited
Asklepius. "ASCLEPIUS : Greek God of Medicine & Doctors | Mythology, Asklepios, Aesculapius, w/ pictures."ASCLEPIUS : Greek God of Medicine & Doctors | Mythology, Asklepios, Aesculapius, w/ pictures. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. <http://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/Asklepios.html>.
Bailey Hogarty , Sarah . "FRAME|WORK: A Statue of Asklepios from Hellenistic Greece." de Young Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. <http://deyoung.famsf.org/blog/framework-statue-asklepios-hellenistic-greece>.
Sylvan Barnet. “A Short Guide to Writing about art” Tufts University Print Pp. 49-81
