stlukesguild
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Sarcophagi buried for 2,500 years unearthed
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Bongo
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was it art? They buried it, must have thought it wasn't that good. The marks on the last one looks amateurish to me compared to other work of the time. Maybe they interned as coffin colorists until they got good enough to put work above ground.
stlukesguild
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A good deal of what we today deem "Art" was not thought of as "Art" in the same manner when it was created. That would include most Ancient Greek sculpture...
Medieval manuscript illuminations...
Etruscan tomb sculpture...
... even a good deal of Renaissance art:
A vast majority of the Art created across history had a purpose that was seen more important than the notion of merely creating an object for aesthetic pleasure. This is true whether we are speaking of portraiture, icons, propaganda, illustrative narrative, memorializing the dead, etc...
The Egyptians belief in an eternal life after death was the driving aspect of their art and culture. It was believed that in the afterlife the dead would need all they had in this life. Thus, we often find tombs including wives... or sculpture of wives buried with their husbands. The bodies were preserved in the belief that they would need their bodies in the afterworld... but just in case, they often added surrogate sculpture of the bodies. Pets were often buried with the dead as well as furniture, decorations, weapons, even entire boats. Walls and sarcophagi were painted with narratives praising the dead as well as blessings and prayers. Just as only the wealthiest among us can afford a Maserati or a painting by one of the "blue chip" artists, so only the wealthiest... the pharaohs... could afford the best of the best craftsmen.
And yet these works were buried as well... with few ever having seen them until they were unearthed in modern times. The sarcophagi recently unearthed were certainly created for individuals with some degree of wealth... yet not the wealthiest. Their sarcophagi are wood and plaster hand-painted as opposed to being made of gold and precious stones... and are still quite beautiful IMO.
Medieval manuscript illuminations...
Etruscan tomb sculpture...
... even a good deal of Renaissance art:
A vast majority of the Art created across history had a purpose that was seen more important than the notion of merely creating an object for aesthetic pleasure. This is true whether we are speaking of portraiture, icons, propaganda, illustrative narrative, memorializing the dead, etc...
The Egyptians belief in an eternal life after death was the driving aspect of their art and culture. It was believed that in the afterlife the dead would need all they had in this life. Thus, we often find tombs including wives... or sculpture of wives buried with their husbands. The bodies were preserved in the belief that they would need their bodies in the afterworld... but just in case, they often added surrogate sculpture of the bodies. Pets were often buried with the dead as well as furniture, decorations, weapons, even entire boats. Walls and sarcophagi were painted with narratives praising the dead as well as blessings and prayers. Just as only the wealthiest among us can afford a Maserati or a painting by one of the "blue chip" artists, so only the wealthiest... the pharaohs... could afford the best of the best craftsmen.
And yet these works were buried as well... with few ever having seen them until they were unearthed in modern times. The sarcophagi recently unearthed were certainly created for individuals with some degree of wealth... yet not the wealthiest. Their sarcophagi are wood and plaster hand-painted as opposed to being made of gold and precious stones... and are still quite beautiful IMO.
Bongo
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these beautiful African art objects can be bid on at Christie's, or seen at major art museums.
They were used to bash in skulls of opposing tribes so that their brains could be eaten. Can't afford it, you can buy a replica on Etsy and elsewhere - looks good above the fireplace mantel - a welcome addition to any well-decoated home. Art of the 21st Century.
They were used to bash in skulls of opposing tribes so that their brains could be eaten. Can't afford it, you can buy a replica on Etsy and elsewhere - looks good above the fireplace mantel - a welcome addition to any well-decoated home. Art of the 21st Century.
stlukesguild
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Museums are full of artifacts with a horrible history of having been used in killing and torture which are now appreciated in aesthetic terms:
16ga
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What are those actually called?
16ga
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Thanks!
stlukesguild
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Collecting art has always been a means of bragging among the wealthy. The wealthy in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance would bankroll a radiating chapel in a cathedral and see it decked out with impressive works of stained-glass, sculpture, and paintings to impress their peers... and the peons. "The Orsini's hired Perugino?! You don't say?! Well we Barberini will hire Fra Angelico! And I hear those damned Medici are trying to woo Donatello! We'll have to have our chapel designed by Brunelleschi!"
Of course, today they're bragging about who owns the latest by Damien Hirst vs who shelled out for the most recent Jeff Koons.
Of course, today they're bragging about who owns the latest by Damien Hirst vs who shelled out for the most recent Jeff Koons.
