Analysis of Art Objects from Ancient Egypt and Ancient Rome - Essay Example

Analysis of Art Objects from Ancient Egypt and Ancient Rome Outline Introduction Description of ancient art as a form of preserving culture. Then the paper introduces the two topics that will be discussed in the paper, i.e. art objects from ancient Rome and ancient Egypt. The paper looks into the Roman culture and belief in the afterlife through studying the Colosseum; the paper then explores the Great Pyramid of Khufu to uncover ancient Egyptian belief in eternal life after death. Discussion This part introduces the two art objects- the Colosseum and the Great pyramid. The Colosseum Historical background including the dates of construction, the architect, the materials used and the design, art and decorations employed in the construction. Various mishaps are discussed including the earthquake that destroyed most of the walls and entrances into the Colosseum. The paper also highlights Emperor Vespasian’s input in the construction of the Colosseum. This section also deals with the historical significance and the uses of the Colosseum (shrine, sports, executions, fights etc.). Finally, in the conclusion, the paper discusses the historical significance of the arena in terms of depicting the culture of the Roman people. The Great Pyramid of Khufu Historical background including the dates of construction, the materials used, whom the Pyramid was built for and the design, art and decorations employed in the construction. The Great pyramid is viewed like a historical account of the ancient slavery, belief in the supernatural and a place where people would rest their physical body, before traversing into the afterlife. The great King Khufu designed the pyramid to be flat faced to reflect the sunlight unlike the earlier pyramids, he also wanted it to be the biggest landmark in Egypt, at the time.This section also deals with the historical significance, the uses of chambers in the pyramid (burying the king and his wives). The supernatural belief of the Egyptian people is also discussed in this section, a concept that shows that they believed the life after death was fat greater than life on earth. Conclusion The conclusion highlights that ancient art is a good way of studying and comprehending ancient cultural and supernatural beliefs, as is evident through the Colosseum and Great Pyramid of Khufu. Analysis of Art Objects from Ancient Egypt and Ancient Rome Introduction. Ancient art is a historical account of culture, beliefs and religious practices from the past; various nations, communities, empires, and communities had different cultural beliefs, different beliefs in the supernatural, and different styles of art. This paper discusses ancient art from ancient Egypt and ancient Rome; one of the most significant preservation of Roman culture is the Colosseum, which had various uses asides being a fighting arena. Another work of art discussed in this paper is the Great Pyramid of Khufu from ancient Egypt which bears a great significance in terms of Egyptian belief in the afterlife. Discussion The Colosseum The Colosseum, also referred to as the Coliseum or the Flavian Amphitheatre, is at the centre of Rome; it was the largest elliptical amphitheatre that existed in the Roman Empire. It is a masterpiece of Roman engineering and architecture. Concrete and stone were the main construction materials. Its construction began in 70 AD during the reign of Emperor Vespasian. It took ten years to construct and Emporer Titus, Emporer Vespasian's successor inaugurated it after its completion. The coliseum underwent further modifications between 81 AD and 96 AD under the reign of Emperor Domitian (Connoly 31). Architectural Design The Colosseum, as opposed to Greek theatres constructed before it, was a free standing structure; the previous theatres stand on the sides of hills. Its interior and exterior architecture resemble two Roman theatres. It is elliptical in shape, 156 metres wide and 189 metres long. The base area is 24,000 square metres and the outer walls are 48 metres high. The outer perimeter of the Colosseum measures 545 metres. The central arena is oval in shape and has a width of 55 metres and length of 87 metres. A wall, 5 metres high, surrounds it. The outer wall consists of travertine stone. Iron clamps rather than mortar held the travertine stone together. This outer wall suffered damage and collapsed during the 1349 earthquake (Chrisp 12). The Colosseum had 80 entrances due to its huge capacity (50000-80000), 76 of which were for ordinary spectators. The Roman Emperor together with his aides used the northern main entrance to enter and exit the Colosseum. The elite of Rome used the other three axial entrances. These four axial entrances had rich decorations, mainly painted stucco reliefs. Some of these decorations are still visible today. The spectators would seat in a tiered arrangement which reflected the different social classes in Rome at that time. The arena had a wooden floor with sand on top. This covered the hypogeum that was beneath it. The hypogeum consisted of a network of cages and tunnels where animals and gladiators rested before their contests began. The animals accessed the arena through 8 vertical shafts. The arena floor does not exist today. However, the hypogeum can be visibly seen. Significance The Colosseum was a fortress, a place of housing, a Christian shrine, a quarry and a place of sport and death (executions). This shows that the Roman people believed in death, they had religious beliefs in God, and they also believed in the afterlife due to the fact that most of these gladiators were buried in a mortuary known as the Soliarium. The Colosseum is a great work of art because of its complex and well organized design, and because most of its walls still stand the test of time (Dewitte and Ralph 458). The Great Pyramid of Khufu Ancient Egyptians really valued life after death; to them, it was a greater life than that of the earth. To be able to progress properly into the afterlife, it was necessary that the physical body be preserved on earth, where it would rest close to other family members and friends. Here, the pharaoh would spend eternity traversing the stars with his fellow gods. The Great Pyramid of Khufu is one of the ancient works of art that beguiles humanity; it is the biggest and largest pyramid on earth. It is not only a representation of ancient Egyptian architecture, it is a representation of the Egyptian beliefs in the supernatural, and in the eternal afterlife (Romer 167). Design and Significance The Great Pyramid was built by King Khufu at around 2500 BC in Giza. It is also known as the great pyramid of Giza or the pyramid of Cheops. It stood at 230m square by 146m high. It was flat faced to reflect the sun rays, as opposed to some of the earliest pyramids that were step sided. There has been various hypothesis about the construction of the Pyramid of Giza, however, the most acceptable is that large limestone blocks were carried from a quarry and piled up into place by tens of thousands of men. The pyramid was built to be the resting point of Pharaoh Khufu, a complex interior with few chambers for the Queen and King, from which they would properly progress into eternal afterlife (Dewitte and Ralph 301). Conclusion The historical significance of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, is that of belief in the afterlife. It is clear that Pharaoh Khufu took his progression into the afterlife very seriously because he went on to create what is currently the oldest wonder of the world. The colosseum on the other hand, though a place of sport, was also a final resting place of the gladiators who died in the arena. This shows that the Roman people also believed that there is life after death. Works Cited Chrisp, Peter. The Colosseum. Austin, Tex.: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1997. Print. Connoly, Peter. Colosseum: Rome's arena of death. London: BBC Worldwide, 2003. Print. Dewitte, Debra J., and Ralph M. Larmann. Gateways to art: understanding the visual arts. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2012. Print. Hopkins, Keith, and Mary Beard. The Colosseum- Wonders of the World. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005. Print. Romer, John. The Great Pyramid: ancient Egypt revisited. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print. Read More