Art of the Fertile crescent
Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Things to know‌
What is Civilization? In order for an advanced civilization a society must have‌ Food surplus Social structure/division of labor Government leadership Religion Culture (art, music, literature, etc.) Technology Written language
Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Introduction…
Video : The History of Fertile Crescent & Rise of Civilization Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Origins of Civilization in Mesopotamia
Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Civilization developed in a few great river valleys where deposits of rich soil produced abundant harvests. It was there that people first settled, and villages and cities began to rise. One of these river valleys extended in the Persian Gulf, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The flat plain of this valley, with its rich soil, warm summers, and mild winters, came to be known as the Fertile Crescent. MAP SKILLS ď ŽFIGURE The area between the Tigris River and the Euphrates River has become known as the Fertile Crescent. Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Prof. Gaia Gemignani
We will talk about the art of
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Sumerian
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Akkadian
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Neo – Sumerian
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Babylonian Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Photos of the area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Sumerian civilization Introduction.. 4500 B.C. People from the east known as Sumerians abandoned their nomad lifestyle to settle in Mesopotamia. The region they settled was called Sumer. They formed agricultural communities with markets that eventually grew into towns built around high temples.
Video:How to draw Ziggurat or Mayan pyramid Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Sumerian civilization Sumerian were creative people. They tilled the soil, built houses, constructed levees to control the floodwaters of the Tigris River, drained marshes, and dug irrigation canals
Why was irrigation so important? Because in a land of blazing sun with little rainfall, farming could be carried on only with irrigation.
Vocabulary till: arare levees: argini floodwaters: inondazioni marshes: paludi dug: scavata Blazing: sfolgorante Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Sumerian civilization They are believed to have invented wheeled transportation and the potter’s wheel.
Vocabulary Potter’s wheel: tornio Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Sumerian civilization Ziggurats: Symbolic Mountains
Vocabulary Span:attraversare earthbound worshipers: lavoratori legati alla terra. tar: catrame
These Sumerian temples served as centers of both spiritual and community life . The Ziggurat satisfied the desire to create a monument that appeared to span the space between earthbound worshipers and their heavenly gods. Definition of Ziggurat: a stepped mountain made of clay bricks. The core of the ziggurat is made of mud brick covered with baked bricks laid with bitumen, a naturally occurring tar. Each of the baked bricks measured about 11.5 x 11.5 x 2.75 inches and weighed as much as 33 pounds. (30x30x7cm, 15 kg circa) In this photo the great Ziggurat of Ur Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Sumerian civilization The most famous ziggurat, the biblical Tower of Babel, no longer exists, but the still-impressive ruins of others can still be seen rising above the flat plain .
Ideal reconstruction Form of the Ziggurat
Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Sumerian civilization Decorative art What is this? An Impressive sound box from a lyre. This object was found near the tomb of a queen and testifies to the imagination and skill of Sumerian Artist
Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Sumerian civilization Decorative art It is decorated with a bull’s head finished in
Vocabulary herders: pastori gold leaf: foglia d’oro (strato sottile dorato) threatened:minacciavano The fascination for this animal might be traced to early herders who recognized the animal’s power against the wild beasts that threatened their cattle
gold leaf.
The practice of combining human and animal features in a single work is not uncommon in the art of the ancient Near East. The bull in particular is
Lapis lazuli, a semiprecious blue stone, was used to fashion a human beard and other smaller details.
often represented. Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Sumerian civilization 1 Their writing is the oldest that has come down to us. (cuneiform writing)
7 The Sumerian stylus was probably a straight piece of reed with a three-cornered end.
2 The writing of sumerians first took the form of picture writing.
8 They clay tablets were fired to make them more durable.
3 They wrote on clay tablets, pressing rather than scratching lines into the soft, wet clay.
In this manner they kept records, execute contracts, and created a culture in wich the stylus became as important to them as computers are to us today.
Evolution of writing
4 Over time, pictures created through this process lost their form as pictures and became stylized symbols. 5 To draw their pictures they used a stylus, or writing instrument.
Vocabulary wedges: cunei Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Akkadian period introduction:‌ In a region called Akkas, lived a Semitic people eager to add to their territory. By 2340 B.C. an Akkadian king had succeeded in establishing his control over Sumer. Eventually the Akkadian Empire included the entire region between the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf. This vast empire was short-lived, but while it lasted art and literature flourished.
ď ŽFIGURE King Naram-Sin of Akkad in Horned Tiara Near Mountain Summit with Soldiers. 2230 B.C. Sandstone stele. Originally from Mesopotamia, found in Susa, Iran. The Louvre, Paris, France.
Video : Victory Stele of Naram-Sin Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Akkadian period Reviewing the facts Can you answer these questions?
• Why this sandstone stele was made? • What is its meaning? • What is happening in this scene?
Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Akkadian period LOOKING
Closely
Vocabulary Relief: rilievo tramples: calpesta defeated: sconfitto
rom early times it was the custom of Mesopotamian kings to commission monuments celebrating their military victories such as the one to King Naram-Sin. The importance of the victorious Akkadian king is emphasized by his large size and his central position at the top of the relief. 1 F
The king wears a horned helmet symbolizing nemico hisfoe: status as a god.
Wounded: ferito
He is placed before a triangular mountain To stars pull: tirare with shining down on him as he tramples the body of a defeated foe.
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Two enemy soldiers confront the Akkadian king, one begging for mercy and another, mortally wounded, attempting to pull an arrow from his neck.
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The king’s victorious army marches up the mountain. The only victims shown are those of the king’s enemy.
Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Neo – Sumerian period introduction:… The Akkadian dominance ended around 2150 B.C. with a revival of Sumerian culture. The best-known of the Neo-Sumerian rulers was Gudea (Ensi = King). After his death, he was worshiped as a God.
Gudea’s appearance is known from the many sculpture portraits that have survived to the present.
The figure is solid, with no openings between the arms and body. The pose is stiff and the proportions squat, but the face appears to be a portrait. The overall effect is one of quiet dignity, an appropriate effect for a sculpture intended to be placed in a temple. FIGURE In this portrait, the king sits on a low Vocabulary chair in a position of prayer. Stiff: rigido His hands, with their long fingers, are tightly squat: tozzo clasped together. Identify the most realistic Tightly: strettamente features of the face in this sculpture Clasped: stretto 2144–2124 B.C. Diorite. 44 c. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Babylonian Civilization introduction:‌
Around 1800 B.C., after centuries of warfare between the various Mesopotamian city- states, the Babylonians under the rule of their king, Hammurabi, gained control of Mesopotamia.
Babylonian Sculpture King Hammurabi owes his fame to the code he published to unify legal practices in his empire. This code was recorded on a stele, an inscribed stone pillar, placed in a public area for all to see. At the top of the stele, the king receives the laws from the seated sun god. The god wears the horned helmet of divinity and holds a ring and a rod, symbols of his power. Vocabulary ď ŽFIGURE Hammurabi is shown receiving pillar: pilastro the laws from the sun god. rod: scettro Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Babylonian Civilization The Code of Hammurabi The code was inscribed below the relief sculpture and included a listing of punishments for certain crimes. These specified punishments in kind, similar to the biblical “an eye for an eye.” (Thus, if a person knocked out an eye or a tooth or broke a limb of another, the same thing was done to that person as punishment) Traditions and habits of law and order were established, modified, and changed over thousands of years to form the basis of Western civilization. Vocabulary limb: arto
The Code of Hammurabi. 1792–1750 B.C. Engraved black basalt. 225 .The Louvre, Paris, France.
Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Assyrian Civilization introduction:… Following Hammurabi’s death in 1750 B.C., the Babylonian period came to an end. Warring peoples swept across Mesopotamia, plunging the civilized world into a long period of turmoil. This turmoil came to a close when the powerful Assyrians from the north rose to power around 900 B.C. They ruled until early in the seventh century B.C.
FIGURE This figure’s horned helmet and wings identify him as a god, not a human being. What makes the figure seem so powerful? Winged Genie Fertilizing a Date Tree. From Nimrud, Assyrian. 884–860 B.C. Limestone.231.8 × 181.0 cm . The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri.
Vocabulary turmoil: agitazione Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Assyrian Civilization Who's this ? What is he doing?
Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Assyrian Civilization This is a stone reliefs used to cover the mud-brick walls of royal palaces. A winged deity is shown performing what appears to be a magic ritual before a sacred date palm tree. The figure holds a ritual container in his left hand and a conelike object in his right. His muscles suggest power and strength, whereas the horned helmet and wings identify him as a god. His actions, however, remain a mystery. Perhaps, as some suggest, the image is intended to symbolize the god’s power to provide for his earthly subjects.
Vocabulary Earthly subjects: Sudditi terreni Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Neo - Babylonian
Video The ishtar gate, Berlin
introduction‌ King Nebuchadnezzar rekindled Babylonian supremacy. Under Nebuchadnezzar, some of the splendor of the past was restored to Babylon. BUILDING
Unfortunately, the temples (Ishtar gate) and other structures erected during the NeoBabylonian period were made of clay bricks, which crumbled quickly. The only example of architecture from this period is a single arched gateway once located inside the city. Vocabulary crumble: crollare, sbriciolarsi gateway: ingresso
Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Neo - Babylonian Was one of eight gateways marking a procession route that passed through Babylon. .
The round-arched gateway is covered with blue-glazed bricks and has geometric designs in white and gold Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Neo - Babylonian There are rows of bulls
Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Vocabulary Rows: file
Neo - Babylonian What is this?
Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Neo - Babylonian
Vocabulary Scaly : squamoso
Contrasting with the blue background are rows of identical long-necked dragons A dragon from this gate exhibits features of several different kinds of animals.
It has a scaly body, a serpent’s head, the front feet of a cat, the hind feet of a bird, and a scorpion’s tail.
Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Neo - Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 B.C., and within 30 years his empire was in shambles.
Vocabulary Within : nel giro di shables: caos
Persian Empire
Persepolis Video
Persian architecture and relief carving Persian are famous for the construction of palaces. The best example is Persepolis in modern Iran. It was built on a stone platform with magnificent rooms and wooden ceilings supported by huge columns. The most important room was the enormous audience hall, where the persian king formally received official visitors from every corner of the known world . The room contained 100 columns 65 feet high (about 20 metres).
Nothing remains of it today but a few columns and Reconstruction of the Audience Hall of Darius and Xerxes. Persepolis.
the outlines of the general plan. Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Persian Empire Today, little remains of the grandeur of the palace at Persepolis. When Alexander the Great marched into the city in 331 B.C., he destroyed the magnificent palace and take its huge treasure
Persepolis Today Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Persian Empire
The top portion of each column in the Audience Hall was decorated with the figures of two bulls facing in opposite direction. These animals have a powerful appearance. They surely must have impressed visitors with the king’s power.
Capital in the shape of a Bull. Persian. c. 518 – 460 B.C. Bituminous limestone. 71.1 × 76.2 × 30.5 cm . The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Purchase: Nelson Trust.
Prof. Gaia Gemignani
Video Resume Mesopotamia
Activity Assign a symbol to each of the 26 letters of our alphabet. Write a short paragraph or poem and translate it into those symbols. Exhibit your work.
example
Prof. Gaia Gemignani