Trucanini Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Trucanini Art - Essay Example The Trucanini image is one woman who is trying to come to terms with the frequent changes in the world which to her she cannot manage to change them. On the face the woman appears to have given up but the youthful beauty is still evident. The image depicts her as seated looking at the viewer with a traditional shell necklace and on her shoulders is the kangaroo skin. The photographic images were limited in the sense that by the time, the era of photography arrived in Tasmania in 1858 most of the population was dead a reason that explains why it was difficult to retrieve records. To add to this, during the colonial period there were a few artists and therefore the paintings were rare to find since they were not free to settle near the culture of civilized individuals. There were only two portfolios of Tasmian Aborigines that were known to these artists. The water color paintings would indicate women who had their hair shaved and only a circle of hair was left round the head while for the men they were bearded, unshaven hair and had no necklace. Given the poor rate of photography the power of the image of Trucanini was not portrayed well. For instance in the first portfolio, it was an amateur painting and sketch which were photographed in a squalid condition where the Trucanini are depicted as being comfortable with no hesitation. They have resigned to submit to the idea of imprisonment that was presented to them by the European colonies. No effort has been made by the photographers.

ANCIENT ART (DB) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

ANCIENT ART (DB) - Essay Example The statue exhibits a direct balance of these attributes between its right and left sides: the right planted and firm; the left bent in motion, lagging behind as it moves forward implicitly offering a further balance between "good" (the right, or dexterous, side) and evil (the left, or sinister, side). Polyclitus attempt to harmonize these features came about as the culmination of Hellenistic sculpture, for not only had the goal become to portray man as naturally (the kallos, or "beautiful) as possible, but also to capture the ideal physicality of man (the eu, or "perfect"). The Augustus of Primaporta statue models itself on the Doryphoros for that exact reason, with few exceptions: Augustus is clothed, his right arm raised and extended, and the weight of this is counterbalanced by a small cupid riding a dolphin attached to the back of the right leg. Roman sculptures during this period had continued the practice of portraying their subjects as naturally as possible however, statues o f emperors are always idealized. Augustus is always depicted in his prime - despite his living into the sixties - and this statue in particular is modeled upon Polyclitus's work as it had been recognized as the most accurate depiction of the ideal form of man. Polyclitus's work takes on the subject of man's form - not the reality, but the ideal. As such, it's image springs from the fountainhead of the artist's imagination and presumably bears no resemblance to any single individual. In contrast, the Augustus statue is most definitely intended to be modeled from and to represent the Augustus Caesar. Yet the duplication is intentional, for the sculptures are meant to capture the inner character (ethos) of the subjects rather than a emotional state (pathos). Both bear almost identical controlled calm expressions with sharply defined air brow and nose. The statue of Augustus is meant to portray its subject as the ideal man of his time; small wonder that it should model itself upon the ideal male figure of the Greeks. Greek statues were used for three main purposes: to portray deities (which represented ideals themselves), to represent the dead as grave monuments, or to cater to commissions for architectural or temple projects. Mythological representations represented mental ideals and natural subjects captured athletic ideals; Greek sculptures were never intended to portray reality. The Augustus of Primaporta was meant to portray the perfection of Augustus. The arm raised in oratorical fashion was a pre-requisite skill for any Roman politician; the cuirass (breastplate) indicates the subjects military command. The cupid is in direct reference to Augustus claim to trace his lineage back to Aeneas, while the scene on the cuirass indicates both Rome's political dominance and divine preference. Thus does Augustus portray himself as strictly adhering to Roman values and traditions to solidify his position in the popular opinion. The Doryphoros attempts to capture a particular essence of humans. The Augustus of Primaporta, conversely, has a political agenda. Augustus Caesar had been seeking to distance himself from his