1 Chapter 2 The Rise of Civilization: The Art of the Ancient Near East Gardner’s Art Through the Ages

2 The Ancient Near East

1.Who was Gilgamesh? 2.What was a recurrent motif in this story? Give at least 2 instances of its usage: 3.Who is Humbaba? 4.What is a major theme of this work? 5.What does the piece tell us about what was important to the Sumerians? 3

4 Lessons about Sumeria from Gilgamesh: What were motifs? What were themes? What can that tell us about: –What was important to the people in this era? –Who likely had the most control over the way the story was told? –Who was it geared toward? –What were the morals/values implied here? –How do they see their role in the cosmos? –How do they see death?

When viewing a collection of artwork, we can consider similar things to what we consider in a work of literature. We can observe, analyze, interpret and link to context from the CLUES in the literature as well: With Gilgamesh-we: –OBSERVED: Narrator’s voice (dramatic/descriptive/exciting) –OBSERVED: Structure (narrative poem/tablets) –ANALYZED: Motif (women/dreams/nature/punishment/grief/hubris) –INTERPRETED: Themes –(women’s roles/power/strength/greed/fear of death/failure/wild vs tame/justice/merits of civilization) CONCLUDE: ALL OF THIS LINKS TO THE VALUES/CONTEXT OF THIS CULTURE…. 5

From our reading….we can start with SOME CONTEXT….. 6

7 –Epic of Gilgamesh: Earliest known literary work Written on 12 clay tablets in cuneiform, probably around 2000BCE Epic poem recorded from an oral tradition of a King that likely existed in that millenium-this version is more likely from 600BCE Reveals to us a sense of Sumerian awareness of self in the cosmos and gives an understanding of their beliefs in what it means to be human and what it means to be a god or goddess. Today, Gilgamesh is considered a myth-M.H. Abrams (Norton Anthology of English Literature) refers to a myth as a religion which we no longer believe…..

8 Belief systems in Ancient Sumer: we know from documentary evidence & Gilgamesh itself: –Sumerians worshipped a pantheon of gods and goddesses organized into a hierarchy-each had individual responsibilites and human/animal attributes. –Sacrifice performed at temples to ensure good harvests. –Afterlife was fairly unpleasant-life was more the focus- death was to be avoided -yet ritual suicide and earthly possessions accompanied burial rituals. –All land owned by the gods, but king-priests acted on earth-responsible to the gods alone. –A lower group of priests enjoyed worldly power and privilege with the responsibility of education and text- writing….

9 Social Practices and Societal Organization in Ancient Sumer: –Lived in villages and organized themselves around religious centers that grew into cities. –Cities and City-states emerged with King-priests as rulers and a class of less powerful priests emerges under them. –Individuals had specialized labor positions in society that functioned to create a useful community. –This was made possible by way of canals and irrigation systems that also worked to establish farming; but these systems were often threatened by drought and flooding. –Sumerians used and perfected the use of the wheel for transportation around 3000BCE –Sumerians domesticated some animals and used them for farming purposes. –Designed permanent functional spaces that they deemed “sacred”- usually made from mud-brick, mud-cement, and mud-plaster. –Women served the function of providing children in this society but could also be entrepreneurs themselves. They did not have the same rights as men, but they had more than in some later societies.

OBSERVE : Using: Physical evidence Documentary evidence (Provenance) Internal evidence Stylistic evidence 10 The sensory properties-what do you smell, see touch, taste, hear….USE THE ELEMENTS OF ART HERE: LINE, SHAPE, SPACE, COLOR, TEXTURE, FORM, VALUE (the basic vocabulary or building blocks of art) The technical properties-what materials do you see that were used? Here you can explain what the subject is: Genre…Landscape…Still-life….Portraiture/…. Mythological/Historical/Religious/Abstract

Figure 2-5 Statuettes of two worshipers, from the Square Temple at Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar), Iraq, ca BCE. Gypsum inlaid with shell and black limestone, tallest figure approx. 2’ 6” high. Iraq Museum, Baghdad. As we begin to OBSERVE…. Sensory Properties can Tell us here….. Size: Proportion: Detail: Gender: Costume: Materials: 11

On your organizer---these observations go in the 1 st 3 boxes… 12

ANALYZE Formal Properties: Here we are looking for the principles of art….(the grammar and structure of the artwork that uses the vocabulary to communicate): Balance, Movement, Contrast, Emphasis, Rhythm, Unity, Pattern, and Proportion Technical Properties: How is the work crafted-how have the materials been used to create a whole? What MEDIUM is used? How is the TECHNIQUE used? CRAFTSMANSHIP IS THE SKILLFUL USE OF MATERIALS TO CREATE A WORK THAT IS DEVOID OF TECHNICAL FLAWS……

On your organizer…these observations go mostly in the 2 nd box of the first row for FORM 14

As we begin to ANALZYE…. Formal Properties can discuss Characteristics of Form: –Emphasis –Weight –Balance 15

16 1,000 yrs before in Arabian Pennisula…. © 2005 Saskia Cultural Documentation, Ltd. Figures all standard proportions Despite size variations… SYMMETRY STYLIZATION INCISED DETAILS ORDER LARGE INLAID EYES Figure 2-5 Statuettes of two worshipers, from the Square Temple at Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar), Iraq, ca BCE. Gypsum inlaid with shell and black limestone, tallest figure approx. 2’ 6” high. Iraq Museum, Baghdad.

17 How do the SENSORY and FORMAL PROPERTIES of the artwork in this time give rise to the EXPRESSIVE, COMMUNICATIVE PROPERTIES to create a NARRATIVE?

INTERPRET The expressive properties: What kind of mood or feeling are you getting from the vocabulary and grammar? Look especially at colors, shapes that make symbols and the ideas you read behind them –the media chosen and the craftsmanship to determine what this piece is expressing to you…. The reflective properties: What is this work telling you about the artist that made it or the culture it came from? BASE THIS STEP ON YOUR ANALYSIS –IT WILL INVOLVE YOUR PERSONAL OPINIONS BUT AS LONG AS YOU BASE IT ON YOUR ANALYSIS – THIS IS O-KAY….. INTERPRET

In your Graphic Organizer, this is the 4 th and 5 th boxes as well as the 6 th : CONTENT, PURPOSE, CONTEXT 19

Content: Embodied the worshipper and the god/goddess Eternally wakeful and devotional Reflected values/ideals of society? NOT specific people Context: Found in burial-involved in ritual Purpose: Commissioned by the elite Status in society/with the gods to gain favor…. Statues of votive figures, from the Square Temple at Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar, Iraq). Sumerian. c B.C.E. Gypsum inlaid with shell and black limestone. 20

21 Let’s talk terminology…..the Sumerians focus A LOT on narrative….so lets look at how it is created… / \ Context Questions Formal Questions (Reflective ) ( Sensory, Formal, Technical, Expressive) / \ Composition/Form Content/Iconography / \ ] v \ ] organization/space/framing \ ] ] \ ] ] v ] ] how elements have been used to ] ] create the images we see / ] ] / \ ] / v v v NARRATIVE DEVICE

22 CONTENT meaning behind the work and what the work is about (Expressive and Reflective properties): –MYTH –:CHARACTERS –NARRATIVE –SETTING –SUBJECT –Power –Identity FORM the way the piece of art gets across its content (Sensory, Formal and Technical Properties): –Inlay –Register –Groundline –Frieze –Conceptual view –Heraldic comp –Hierarchy of scale WORDS TO KNOW for narrative artwork

ALL OF THIS LINKS BACK TO CONTEXT….. 23

The reflective properties: What is this work telling you about the artist that made it or the culture it came from? BUT instead of focusing mostly on whether we feel it was successful-we want to finish with what it tells us or shows us or proves to us ABOUT that paradigm….that is what will be important in critical analysis in our class from here on….so as with Gilgamesh-we will consider-what is the work showing us? What are the motifs and themes reflecting that we can link to other documentary evidence…what are conventions and innovations? JUDGE: We learned in the intro that we can synthesize everything and judge the success of a piece at this stage. We MUST look at context to do that-to judge it in its own time….so we revisit the paradigm of the time by means of…. 24

This is the 7 th & 8 th box on graphic organizer…. 25

26 Belief systems in Ancient Sumer: we know from documentary evidence: –Sumerians worshipped a pantheon of gods and goddesses organized into a hierarchy-each had individual responsibilites and human/animal attributes. –Sacrifice performed at temples to ensure good harvests. –Afterlife was fairly unpleasant-life was more the focus-yet ritual suicide and earthly possessions accompanied burial rituals. –All land owned by the gods, but king-priests acted on earth-responsible to the gods alone. –A lower group of priests enjoyed worldly power and privilege with the responsibility of education and text- writing….

27 –Epic of Gilgamesh: Earliest known literary work Written on 12 clay tablets in cuneiform, probably around 2000BCE Epic poem recorded from an oral tradition of a King that likely existed in that millenium-this version is more likely from 600BCE Reveals to us a sense of Sumerian awareness of self in the cosmos and gives an understanding of their beliefs in what it means to be human and what it means to be a god or goddess. Today, Gilgamesh is considered a myth-M.H. Abrams (Norton Anthology of English Literature) refers to a myth as a religion which we no longer believe…..

28 Social Practices and Societal Organization in Ancient Sumer: –Lived in villages and organized themselves around religious centers that grew into cities. –Cities and City-states emerged with King-priests as rulers and a class of less powerful priests emerges under them. –Individuals had specialized labor positions in society that functioned to create a useful community. –This was made possible by way of canals and irrigation systems that also worked to establish farming; but these systems were often threatened by drought and flooding. –Sumerians used and perfected the use of the wheel for transportation around 3000BCE –Sumerians domesticated some animals and used them for farming purposes. –Designed permanent functional spaces that they deemed “sacred”- usually made from mud-brick, mud-cement, and mud-plaster. –Women served the function of providing children in this society but could also be entrepreneurs themselves. They did not have the same rights as men, but they had more than in some later societies.

STEP 3: When you begin to translate and interpret your analysis into your conclusions to put it all in context, you can refer back to your previous statements to make your connections. Here you are addressing expressive properties and relying on Documentary evidence If you have some…. It is here that you will Go deeper into content Than you did in step 1 29 So-in review: STEP 1: Identification and sensory Description –address the subject here.. STEP 2: Analysis of FORM and Examination of use of formal properties That are stylistic decisions. Be specific here

30 Figure 2-8a War side of the Standard of Ur, from Tomb 779, Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca BCE. Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone, approx. 8” x 1’ 7”. British Museum, London. Figure 2-8b Peace side of the Standard of Ur, from Tomb 779, Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca BCE. Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone, approx. 8” x 1’ 7”. British Museum, London. Here-formal narrative device offers a new characteristic:: the head of the ruler actually breaks through the top of the register-a formal device that adds to understanding of the content. Also creates emphasis in a narrative that is constant in its style of depiction-blue stone unites the entire background and overall story…. The form helps us Understand the content And how it relates to its Context…

31 What else can we say about conventions of form here? What is the ESTABLISHED CANON OF FORM that is emerging here?

What can we say about composition? What aspects of composition Help us to READ the information? What appear to be conventions of composition? Design elements: Serve to organize the stories/frame the images/direct the eye/tame the natural world? 32

33 What role does other iconography & narrative device have? –Animals: lower status but shown as part of heirarchy: however, animal forms are used to denote the sacred in god-human imagery…. –Plants: Denote natural world: usually lower but worthy of offering –Humans: Of higher status the larger and more clothes They wear –Objects: As props for narrative in reliefs

So what is the meaning? 34 Figure 2-8b Peace side of the Standard of Ur, from Tomb 779, Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca BCE. Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone, approx. 8” x 1’ 7”. British Museum, London. What is the story? Refer to INTERNAL & DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE AS PROOF WHEN YOU ANSWER THIS…. Why was it made? Who was it made for?

As we judge the lasting relevance of this work: 35 Figure 2-8b Peace side of the Standard of Ur, from Tomb 779, Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca BCE. Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone, approx. 8” x 1’ 7”. British Museum, London. How can put together Everything we observed and Analyzed here together and Link it to what we know about The Sumerians? Make a statement about who the Sumerians were as people That is reflected here in the Form/composition and content... Link it to EVIDENCE… Use terms like: because or used to Discuss what it reflects about the Culture’s CONTEXT but use EVIDENCE!!!!

36 Hierarchical Scale: The powerful person is larger than others or in center. Monumental Scale: The image is very large. Idealizing the Face: Showing him/her young, blemish free, attractive and/or old and dignified—whatever is valued as perfect in that society… Distorting or Idealizing the Body: Giving the person a strong muscular body, or as is the case in Byzantine art, no body at all. The Pose: Having a person standing or sitting upon a horse makes them look more powerful. Gestures can have a symbolic significance. Placing the person in a setting that evokes Power: a throne room, or performing a miraculous act. The Costume: In some societies certain clothing is reserved for those who have power –sometimes it is a color-other times there are symbols of power ON the clothing…. Relationship to other styles/things/people/environment-the image is shown in comparison to something else or in reference to or association with someone or something else (CONTENT) Subject matter/narrative activities demonstrate a skill or superiority(CONTENT) Symbols or writing accompany the image to suggest something that can’t be directly seen within the image (CONTENT) Guidelines to making someone look really good on an ancient facebook site… TOP TEN Characteristics of portraits that communicate a powerful identity as part of a narrative or as a singular image…this is form that reveals content and links to context

These works are the earliest pictorial narratives we know about and they are linked to the earliest written language we are aware of….. CUNEIFORM: Pictographs~Symbols~Sounds As a narrative language developed-so too-did a desire to show stories through image… 37

38 Cylinder Seals Continuous perspective Profile view Subtractive method to Create a RELIEF

39 OBSERVE: Composite view/Continuous persective….animals/humans interacting/text/detail ANALYZE: Movement creating chaos/Depth of carving=contrast and intense expressions/firm Edges to forms/angular stylized figural form and muscles emphasized/overlapping to show real depth

40 INTERPRET: What is the meaning behind the forms and the subjects matter? What is the story? What is the theme of the story? Can we read it? What do we know about the culture from other works and documentary evidence that help us read?

41 Observe, analyze and interpret here to try to “read” the content of the narrative

42 Figure 2-11 Banquet scene, cylinder seal (left) and its modern impression (right), from the tomb of Pu-abi (tomb 800), Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca BCE. Lapis lazuli, approx. 2” high. British Museum, London. How is composition different from form here? Composition is PART of form-but different from stylistic figural form! How does it help us “read”?

43 Figure 2-11 Banquet scene, cylinder seal (left) and its modern impression (right), from the tomb of Pu-abi (tomb 800), Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca BCE. Lapis lazuli, approx. 2” high. British Museum, London. How is composition different from form here? Composition is PART of form-but different from stylistic figural form! How does it help us “read”?

44 POWER

Tonight for homework, create a story in stick figures that focuses on YOU and your place in the cosmos-glorify yourself in the style of the Ancient Sumerians. Use continuous perspective and don’t go longer than 4 inches long with your drawing…use narrative device you saw from the Sumerians in class: Use the handout on powerful identity to help you. Use to add cuneiform to your narrative if you like…. 45