Fisherman Fresco

After observing this painting, I have come to the conclusion that it was created by the Minoan people during the “Old Palace” period, around 1900-1700 BCE. This piece depicts a man with handfuls of fish hanging from ropes as if he caught them and is bringing them back home to eat with his family.

 The early Minoans were completely dependent on themselves. They produced their own food and agriculture including cattle, sheep, grains and various fruits. Not to mention the location of their civilization on Crete allowed them to become a trading super power.

Painters at this time preferred a large-scale canvas and did several murals. These paintings usually consisted of nature or humans performing every-day activities. This fisherman painting demonstrates the abundance of life in Minoan culture. There is a similarity to Egyptian art in this piece, which is the twisted perspective of the figure. His body is in profile view, except for his shoulders and torso is shown from the front. Perhaps they chose to stylize this figure in such a way to be appealing to Egyptians while trading. Other evidence that suggests that this is a Minoan painting is the border along the top edge of the painting. My impression is that it is a border, and the Minoans tended to do this with their wall paintings. 

Egyptian Portrayal of the Human Form

An artistic convention is a method of representing something. Rather than observing things around them or using a still life, the Egyptians made their art based on concrete and distinct conventions while giving it a life-like appearance.

One convention that the Egyptians commonly used after their ancestors was the application of hierarchic scale. This allowed artists to represent figures of importance by enlarging them, and keeping other individuals much smaller to signify their social status.

Egyptian art is full of symbols. This doesn’t only include hieroglyphics, but also animalistic figures were used repeatedly to portray a specific person. For example, the God of Earth, Horus, was usually depicted as a falcon, or a falcon-headed man. The Egyptians paid great attention to the human form. In art, they exhibited every recognizable perspective of the human body using composite poses. The head, hips, legs and feet were all created in profile, while the torso and eyes were seen frontally. The use of this convention stayed with the Egyptians for many millennia. In fact, they used composite poses to express power of leaders in conjunction with hierarchic scale to make them seem much larger and more god-like than the small people in the background.

I feel that the Egyptians acquired a great sense of creativity because of their ability to depict their subjects solely on the use of conventions. However, it can be said that most of the figures portrayed in this art are almost exactly the same. Since they based their art on these conventions of the human form, there is no diversity in each person. In other words, if they had created their art with the reference of a still life or a model, then there would be more differences in the characteristics of people. I think that this gives them more creativity, though, because they don’t necessarily need to constantly look at something as a reference; they can create those images from memory. Although, these human figures look similar, the viewer can still distinguish who the person is in the piece because of symbolism. In order for the Egyptians to characterize important figures and gods, they personified animals that symbolize these rulers, like that of the falcon and the god Horus. I don’t believe that the Egyptians created art to show off their talent as an artist, rather they did it as a symbol of importance of the gods and rulers of Egypt. For example, The Palette of Narmar is a clear representation of Narmar, the ruler of Upper Egypt, and his control of Lower Egypt. In conclusion, the Egyptians used hierarchic scale and composite poses to create these images of figures with the intention to represent something important to the people and the deceased.   

Formal Analysis: Heracles Smiting Acheloos

As my first formal analysis, I will be sharing a wall relief from the Ancient Near East called Heracles Smiting Acheloos (in the form of a bull). This fragmented piece is an example of the Late Egyptian Period. Sculptures such as this one were typically created to decorate, if you will, the public part of the tombs of Egyptian pagans. The deceased were often represented as a being of Greek or Roman mythology. For example, a nymph may assume the role of a young woman. In this case, the man portrayed, Heracles is the son of the Greek God, Zeus and is the epitome of masculinity. The bull is a representation of the Acheloos River in Greece because in ancient Greek mythology, the river’s spirit was that of the god named Acheloos.

The photo above displays this high-relief limestone carving of Heracles grasping a bull by his horn. Courage and stability is portrayed through this sculpture in various aspects. The way the man’s body is positioned and the rock-like shape in his hand suggests that he is about to strike the bull to kill it. The bull does not appear angry or mean, but he looks as if he is feeling threatened. Since prehistoric times, the bull has represented strength and nobleness; the fact that the bull seems to be dominated by Heracles demonstrates the bravery and power that this pagan must have had.    

The deep shadows behind Heracles really bring his body foreword in the piece and make him appear more important than anything else. I also notice the large black holes in the deep-set eyes of both the man and the bull. This is interesting because I see similar holes in the background (to the left of Heracles) with the plants. Perhaps those holes are the eyes of others, watching and admiring Heracles from the bushes.  One thing that I am drawn to look and in this piece is the man’s beard. Because of its more detailed texture and wavy characteristic, Heracles’ hair stands out from everything else in the scene, making him seem more god-like. The careful carvings of his abdomen emphasize the shape of his muscular body in which gives him a physically mature and dominant appearance. There is a likeness of these forms on his abdomen to the shapes of the plants and leaves in the background connecting him to Earth also giving him a godly personality.   

               

 If this carving really was a part of a man’s tomb to symbolize his personality, then this man must have been a hero.