Art History 2 Mesopotamia

Timeline Yellow area is Mesopotamia as compared to Europa, Egypt, China and India. Timeline by Jacob Voorthuis

Map of Ancient Mesopotamia Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia Architecture was made with mud-bricks and painted or faced with tile or stone Go to this website to learn about ziggurats t.html click on each of the photos at that web site. t.html Ancient Near East Art Ziggurats c BC (stepped platform temples) were created. The small temple was placed on the top platform of the ziggurat. The four corners represented the points on the compass and the form represented a mountain.

Art for special purpose Art began to be used for religion and politics. Kings and rulers used artists to glorify themselves and preserve their history. Temples were the center for religious and civic pride Mesopotamia Ishtar Gate. Ishtar was a Goddess. This is from the Assyrian age in Babylon c.575 BCE What you see here is 47 ft high and 100 ft wide but that represents only a small portion of the gate. King Nebuchadnezzar was the ruler when this was built. This is part of the Wall of Babylon. Babylon was in the area that is near what is now named Baghdad, Iraq

Mesopotamia A stele (pl.-stelai) is a large upright stone slab in which sculptors commemorated a King’s victories or achievements Hierarchical scale was a technique artists began to use in art to show the importance of the subject. For instance, a ruler would be taller than less important people. Public domain image Victory Stele of Naram-Sin This stele is from around 2245 BCE and commemorates the victory of King Naram-Sin over the Lullubi. Hierarchical scale was used here. The king is much taller and stronger than everyone else in the sculpture

Mesopotamia Guardian figures, (sculpture called Lamassu) placed at the entrance to palaces and important buildings, were a hybrid of men and animals These figures generally have 5 legs… 2 from a front view and 4 from the side view with one of those 4 serving as one of the front 2. Lamassu

Narrative Art Mesopotamia Assyrian lion reliefs are among the worlds first organized narrative art Public domain image granted by Capillion Lions represented the most powerful and fearsome of beasts. The defeat of the lion by the king transferred that power to the king. These were often carved into limestone and were from the Assyrian age of Mesopotamia.

Narrative Art Mesopotamia Standard of Ur, 2,600 B.C.E.Panel made from limestone, shell and lapis lazuli. This is the “war” side of the panel and top row shows the king (center) in hierarchical scale. Back side of panel is “peace.” Sumerian

Cuneiforms and Cylinder Seals Mesopotamia Cuneiform (at left) is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. At one time there were over 1,000 unique characters. The characters were made on clay tablets with a reed which left a wedge shape. This was replaced by alphabets. Cylinder seals (below) were ceramic cylinders which had been carved into so when rolled onto clay would leave an impression which could be repeated indefinitely. Public domain image per Jastrow 2006