Introduction
Sculptures are works of art which are constrained to time and are used to communicate. Sculptures occur in different types determined by where they were done and this is what this paper analyzes. This paper identifies the sculptures attached for analysis and gives a detailed analysis of the sculptures identified. There are three types of sculptures attached which this paper identifies as Hellenistic sculpture, Archaic Greek sculpture and the Roman sculpture.
The first diagram is an archaic sculpture. The sculpture portrays a nude youth, appreciating the natural symmetry of the human body. This is achieved by not creating any twists, bends and turns in the pose. The arms are stiff and with clenched fists. The sculpture lacks realism by portraying man as rigid. The Kouroi was made of marble and it height is 731/2”. All this characteristics were created in the archaic sculpture (Conlin & Diana, 32)
The sculpture displays a youthful male with long hair falling over his shoulders. This sculpture was developed basing on the religious practices and believes of the Greeks. In some places in Greece, the Kouroi was used as a marker on graves and there main purpose of this Kouroi was to serve as sanctuaries. When used as grave markers, they stood over the graves but did not represent the specific individual. The youthful sculpture was to please the gods to whom it was offered.
The second sculpture depicts the Hellenist art. The art repeats the innovations made in the second classism. The sculpture is a perfect allowing admiration from all angles of the viewer. This sculpture is a Lacoon art displaying a giant being attacked by snakes; he is displayed trying to free himself and his two sons from the snakes. The Lacoon group is located in the Vatican museums in Rome.
This art is particularly deliberate in the portrait, the expression in the face of the giant and the sons, and the atmosphere consisting of snakes, portrays the giant as struggling to free his sons and himself from the snakes. The art therefore portrays the theme of suffering.
The third diagram is a roman sculpture. The sculptures signify existence a famous ruler/ emperor in the Roman Empire. The man is portrayed carrying a sword in his hand. The ruler is portrayed raising his hand which could signify that he is giving instruction to his military to attack the enemy and protect his son (family). The drawings on the man’s armor are the famous roman drawings. Therefore; the sculpture is a Roman sculpture. This sculpture was used to decorate private and public buildings. The roman used this sculpture to celebrate victories of ruler, to honor them, to promote state and governance (Hallett & Christopher, 3). The Roman sculptors were created to serve the needs of the patrons and do not express the sculptors artistic attitudes.
Similarity among the sculptures
All the three sculptures are similar in the following ways. The sculptures are symbolic – the archaic sculpture signifies religion, the Lacoon signifies suffering and the roman sculpture signifies the state of warfare and patronage. In the Hellenist and the archaic sculptures, the expression of the artistic attitude is fully determined by the sculptor. In all the three sculptures, the male figure has been used.
Differences among the sculptures
Civilization- the archaic and the Hellenistic sculptures displays man as uncivilized he is naked whereas the roman sculpture presents man as civilized, it is dressed in amours in readiness for battles.
The archaic sculpture reveals the theme of religion by signifying sanctuary and obedience to gods among the Greeks (Boardman, 9). The Hellenistic sculpture reveals the theme of suffering by human beings whereas the roman sculpture signifies the warfare situation in the Roman Empire as well as the honor granted to rulers by the Romans.
The archaic sculpture displays human being as rigid and smooth which is not reality in normal life. The Hellenist sculpture portrays man as flexible, trying to fight for deliverance from the snake. The roman sculpture portrays man as flexible too by displaying him holding the sword in one hand and pointing away the other hand.
The roman sculpture was used in the warfare periods in the Roman Empire, signifying honor of the Romans to the emperors’ rule whereas the archaic sculptures are used in religious context in which the Greeks were required to comply with their religion (Boardman, 9).
Work cited
Boardman, J., World of Art: Greek Art, New York: McGraw Hill, 2002 print.
Conlin & Diana A., The Artists of the Ara Pacis, Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 1997 print.
Hallett & Christopher H., The Roman Nude: Heroic Portrait Statuary 200 BC - AD 300, London: Oxford University Press, 2005 print.
