Portrait Sculpture in the Ancient World
... as being superior to deities. Menkaure is seen wearing a kilt and the crown of Upper Egypt – a symbol of leadership which also emphasizes the royal and divine status of himself. At first sight the facial features of the figures are easily seen to be highly idealized. The faces of all three figures take on a round shape. Their eyes are not deeply set in within their sockets, their noses are short and turned up, the lips are full, the cheeks are protruding, and their ears are prominent. It is apparent that the goals of the Egyptians in portraiture were to create a fear factor and to intimidate those who witnessed the piece of art. Menkaure was sculpted in a manner which would idealize him and to create a feeling of awe for the spectator viewing the artwork. This can be generally stated about all Egyptian pieces of art since the majority of them were created to be monumental in size which attributes to the fear factor thus creating rhetoric of power. Everything about the statues, the life-size scale and their solid appearance conveys a feeling of royal dignity and also intimidation for those who witness this marvelous artwork. The head of Alexander the Great from Pergamon is the perfect example and representation of Hellenistic Greek art. The main characteristic of painting and sculpture of Hellenistic Greek art was exaggeration. The artwork of the time period was to create a surreal effect upon the witnesses of the art. Sculptures and paintings expressed emotions from pain, suffering, anguish, ecstasy, and all the rest of the emotions. Athletic youths were a favorite target and subject as well as popular Greek Mythological figures such as Hermes with the Infant Dionysos. As we can see in the portrait of Alexander, we can see that there is an exaggeration in his eyes, mouth, and hair in order to create and heighten the depression within the portrait. Thus viewers are able to see that Hellenistic Greek art is abundant in individualism and that the everyday citizen is the most important to artists when finding a subject to paint or sculpt. All the pieces of art seem to be relaxed instead of conveying a feeling of being uptight and Godlike. Those who view Hellenistic Greek art can identify with the artwork since the subjects are just normal everyday people who could be your relative or neighbor ever if it was Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great appears to have sunken eyes which exaggerates the depression within himself along with the contour of his skin and wild hair all contradict the true character of what Alexander the Great was really like. The personalities of Hellenistic Greek portraits are greatly dramatized since they exaggerate and create a surreal effect utilizing only one emotion to do so. It is hard to analyze the symbolism that is in Hellenistic Greek art since it is not obvious and blatantly in sight for the viewer to see. Viewers of Hellenistic Greek art must decipher and ponder deeply about the piece of art in order to truly understand the symbolism present to this art as opposed to Egyptian art. Even with all of the emotion quivering in Hellenistic Greek art and acutely registered involvement in the experience of the moment, the art piece still remains remote and somewhat unreal to the viewer. Despite the fact that emotions are exploding out of art pieces from this time period, all of the sculptures seem as they are surreal and as if they have just arrived from another planet. Hellenistic artwork has an increased interest in naturalism and emotionalism when compared to the previous pieces of art from the Greek period of sculpting. When observing the portrait of a Graeco-Roman Egyptian we are able to see how this work of art embodies all the characteristics of Roman art. The Romans were collectors and also great admirers of Greek art. Many pieces of art were brought from Greece was brought to Rome, then copied and changed by the Romans, hence the name Greco-Roman art. Therefore we can state that Roman art is somewhat the equivalent of Greek art. However, Roman art is not simply a reproduction of Greek art since there are noticeable differences between the two time periods of artwork. Portraits in Roman art show the desire for naturalistic qualities. Pieces of art from this time period show even the most detailed and homeliest features which can be seen demonstrated in the portrait of a Graeco-Roman Egyptian. We are able to see that there is great detail in the changes of the texture of the skin of every part of the person’s body. The vividness of the subject’s hair and curvature of his check bones show how extremely the Romans detailed did their pieces of art. When viewing the Graeco-Roman Egyptian we can see very little or close to no improvements were done to the features of this subject which causes the feeling of super-realism. We are also able to see the eyes of the subject, large and gazing out towards the viewer as if he is aware that he is being observed. Roman portraiture reflects and acute awareness of the spectator. This is the first time where the relationship between the subject and the audience is obvious and blatant in artwork. The subject of the art piece is no longer isolated in its own world but seems to be associated with the environment and capable of interacting with everything around it, a real presence seems to be around. It seems as if his eyes are the windows to his soul; this idea in art is very similar to the not very far Christian art a few years later. Unlike Egyptian art where it glorified the subject’s godlike status or exaggerated athletic figure, Roman art depicted people as the way they really were. People were finally truly seen in art as who the art piece was trying to represent. Idealized versions of subjects of artworks during the Roman period of art are rarely if no...