AR 301 Week 3 Discussion Styles

W3 Discussion “Styles”

Ancient Art: Tombs and Treasure

Styles

Compare the pre-unification Theban style to that of the block statue style that began in the early Twelfth Dynasty.  Where do you see we see the most notable difference?  (Look at faces, heads, shoulders, arms and legs, body size.)

Here is the book version of the difference between Pre-unification Theban style and Block

The pre-unification Theban relief style represents the final stage of the Upper Egyptian style, with high raised relief, deep suck relief and incised details. Figures tend to have narrow shoulders and a high small of the back. The limbs are rounded, and in male figures musculature is hardly ever shown. The eye is large and is outlined by an encircling band of relief representing eye paint. The band meets at the outer corner of the eye to form a cosmetic line that runs back to the ear, widening at its outer end. The inner canthus of the eye is plainly depicted and usually dips sharply downwards. The eyebrow is virtually flat where it runs above the eye, rather than imitating the curve of the upper eyelid. The nose is broad with a heavy wing marked off by a deep incision. The lips are think and protruding, and come together at the outer corners of the mouth in a vertical line rather than in a point. The ear is large and often set obliquely. The same strong facial features are rounded modelling of the limbs with little musculature can be seen in statues also.

During the Twelfth Dynasty a new type of statue was introduced, commonly known as the block statue, because it pose reduced the form of the body to a block. The subject is shown seated on the ground with his knees drawn up to his chest, and his arms resting on his knees. The body is totally wrapped in a tight fitting garment from which only the head hand and sometimes the feet emerge. The surface of the garment provided a convenient space for inscriptions. Once introduced, the block statue remained a common type into the Ptolemaic period, but from its inception it was used almost exclusively to portray male subjects.

In my own words the difference between the Pre-unification Theban style and Block style is distinctive and noticeable. In regards to the Theban style, the statues stand upright but when talking about the face the eye is large and outlined while dipping in the inner canthus, the eyebrows are flat running above the eyes not imitating the curve of the upper eye lid, the nose was broad and lips are thick, the shoulders are narrow, arms and legs are rounded with little musculature.

On the other hand the block statue was smaller and more compact. Knees were drawn up to the chest with arms resting on knees. The body is wrapped in tight clothes with only head and feet showing. The facial feature such as eyebrows, eyelids, nose, lips, arms and legs followed the same conventions as the pre unification Theban style. There was plenty of room for inscription on the garment area. The main differences that exist with these block statues is weather the cloak is covering the feet or if the feet are completely showing.

Nice work on your comparison. What do you think about the difference in level of detail?  Do you think they are about the same, or do you think they show differences in this area of craftsmanship or creativity?  Also, which style do you personally prefer and why?

What do you think about the difference in level of detail? 

I believe the difference in level of detail favors the Theban Style. The block statue has less items that required detail. Although bock statue head may be an area of great detail, in my opinion doesn’t compare to the craftsmanship required for the whole creation as in the Theban style. Which leads me to say, the creativity and craftsmanship that is present in the Theban style far exceeds the level present in block statue. I mean come on, the block statue only has 2 versions: 1 with the garment covering the whole body except for the head, and the other version that has the head and feet showing. In those versions the only options for creativity and craftsmanship is the head. I mean I guess one could have nice feet too.

In reference to monuments and statues, I prefer the Theban style because it represents more of an artistic perspective through realistic similarities and captures unique qualities of the deceased it represents. My aunt is a well know artist in the Texas area specializing in statues. She creates true life like bronze statues and many other fancy art things uponrequest. She gets request from cities and celebrities. She has to use many pictures, examples and models to get the proportions corrects. It takes hundreds of hours and enormous amounts of skill. For that I am partial to the Theban Style and have a true respect and appreciation for statues.

Do you think they are about the same, or do you think they show differences in this area of craftsmanship or creativity? 

which style do you personally prefer and why?