Journal 3
Chapter 14
1) Spend a moment taking a small inventory of this sculpture. Write down your
observations.
This sculpture displays a variety of etchings on the head, giving it a look almost
as if it had bubbles on it. The body is of a woman. It reminds me of some fertility
statues I have seen. The statue is not very smooth. There are not really arms on
the statue that are visible beyond the shoulders. It looks like it was carved into
common stone. It appears to be very old by the coloring and the marks made by
the tools that carved it.
2) What comes to mind when you think of Egyptian art, its content and its style?
When I think of Egyptian art, I think of how it is extremely lavish and the
symbolism it shares. I think of the Pyramids, and how they are working
structures that were designed with a purpose. I also think of things like the
sarcophagus that they created. They were made beautifully with symbols,
shapes, and imaged in the likeness to honor who was inside of them. I think of
how they used hieroglyphs to write, the language itself was an artwork. I think of
the sphynx and all of the iconic Egyptian structures that have been known about
for many years.
3) Should we feel uncomfortable about Howard Carter & his treatment of Tut and his
Tomb? Why or why not?
I don’t really think there is a clear answer to that. I think that there is a boundary
of respect that should be shown for Tut and his tomb, but I also think that there
is a lot to learn from it all as well. I think that it was all worth it in the end
because we have this great piece of history that we are able to study and it
allows us to know more about the civilization of the Egyptians. I think that There
is a limit to how much involvement should have been allowed, nut ultimately, I
do not see too much of a problem with it. In some sense though, I do know that
if this were just a tomb of a regular person who had no real historical significance
I may have a different opinion.
Chapter 15
1) What do you notice about these mosaics, their content, and style? How might you
compare them to other art we’ve seen?
These mosaics are incredibly detailed and very precise. The artists used various
colors in them giving them a distinctive look and feel. They used slightly lighter
and darker colors around the figures to give the effect that that there are
shadows and highlighted parts on them. They all seem to be of holy or religious
figures. The ones that are in the curved shape have an almost 3-dimensional
effect. The color choices mixed with the shape of the walls looks as if the angelic
figures separate from the background and are closer to you than the background
itself. It differs from many of the art styles we have seen before because of the
medium it used in order to complete the picture. Mosaics are created by various
pieces of glass or other materials that vary in color to complete a picture or
design. These mosaics took a lot of detail and a keen sense of color and patience
to put ever piece in the right place until they created these images.
2) Use the link provided to take an inventory. How does this compare to the early
medieval artwork in this chapter and other things we’ve studied?
This page is extremely intricately decorated. It has some symbols in the center of
it that kind of resemble some sort of ancient lettering. The art work has a lot of
details that look like various knots and circular patterns in it. I see the use various
people’s faces and line use based on the lettering that is in the center of the
page. While it has a lot of curvature and rounding, I see various points to it which
I believe is a way of balancing and contrasting other portions of the image. There
is a little bit of blank space around the outside of the image which is another
form of balance that it has. With the coloring, the overall feeling that this piece
give is one of joy or hope. I think that the difference between it and many of the
other earlier pieces is the use of color and the mood that it sets.
3) Take an inventory of Chartres Cathedral. What do you notice? How is it different from
the Romanesque and Byzantine churches we have seen?
Chartres Cathedral displays a Gothic style of architecture. The outside of this
Cathedral is highly detailed and visually attracting. The Cathedral is built really
