Essay Test Near East, Egyptian,

Ancient Greece, and Roman Art

This question is worth 100 points.

ART HISTORYSECTION II—Part B

Time—60 minutes2 Questions

  Directions: You will have 60 minutes to answer the two questions in this part. Responses that answer the question directly will receive higher scores than those that simply list characteristics or include irrelevant points. Therefore, spend a few minutes organizing or outlining your response in the blank space provided above each question. (Notes in the blank space will not be graded.) Be sure to analyze each question carefully and choose appropriate examples. Identify your examples fully as possible. 

_____________________________________________ 9. Art is often used by patrons* to authorize their power. Often this use of art is defined as propaganda.  Identify at least two works, each from a different art historical period and culture, and discuss how the work of art authorizes the power of the patron who commissioned it. (30 minutes)

Patron: a person who commissions art; a person who pays for the art to be made.

Hatshepsut as Sphinx, Dynasty 18, c. 1473-1458 BCE

How does Hatshepsut authorize her power (through this visual representation of herself)?

A relief panel from the Arch of Constantine.

Who is at the center of this relief? Who is seated on the throne?At whom does everyone look?

Stele of Naramsinc. 2254-2218 BCE AkkadThis stele is meant to commemorate an important victory.

Why is Naramsin so much bigger than the other figures in the relief? Do you remember the term “hieratic scale”?

Where do all the soldiers—both the vanquished mountain people as well as Naramsin’s soldiers—gaze?

The Colossus of Constantine, c. 312-15Was originally placed in the west apse of the Basilica of Maxentius c. 306-312.

Human-Headed Winged LionLamassu (plural: lamassus)883-859Assyrian

The entire purpose of a lamassu is to inspire civic pride and to inspire fear.

A lamassu is a guardian-protector of an Assyrian palace or throne room. Usually a lamassu is twice a man’s height to symbolize the strength of the ruler the lamassu defends.

Why does the lamassu have five legs? Hint: How is the viewer meant to interact with this sculpture?

Equestrian Sculpture of Marcus Aureliusc. 173-76 C.E.

What do you notice about Marcus Aurelius’ posture on this very spirited (lively, agitated) horse?

What do What do you notice about Marcus Aurelius’ size in comparison with his horse?

Stele of Hammurabic. 1792-1750

The two men at the top of the stele are Hammurabi and Shamash (the sun god and god of justice).

Hammurabi created the most important set of legal codes from the Ancient Near East. These legal codes predate the biblical Ten Commandments and may be the source of these laws.

Notice that Hammurabi is almost as large as Shamash; Hammurabi addresses Shamash directly.

This image on the stele argues powerfully that Hammurabi’s code was given directly to him by god—by Shamash. Notice the rays of light which emanate from Shamash’s shoulders. He is seated on a throne which is “seated” at the top of a mountain.

The idea represented here is that the laws are somehow immutable and divine; the laws are given to man by god.

Akhenaten and His Family Dynasty 18, c. 1352-1336 BCE

Can you read this image symbolically?

Akhenaten believed in one god—the sun god.

The sun god—Aten—is blessing Nefertiti and Akhenaten by holding ankhs to their nostrils (the symbol of eternal life).

How does Lysimachus use this coin to authorize his power?

What four important visual signifiers can you identify?

Coin with head of Alexanderca. 305-281BCEThis coin was issued by Lysimachus, the former general of Alexander the Great. After Alexander's death, Lysimachus ruled part of Alexander's empire in Bulgaria, northern Greece and Turkey known as 'Thrace'.

Augustus of Primaportaearly 1st century

•idealization of a ruler•imperial portraiture used for political propaganda