Andrew Hamann
HOA 105
28 November 2017
Writing Assignment #3
Despite being from vastly different periods and cultures, art can have similar messages and methods by which to convey those messages. The Victory Stele of Naram Sin, Augustus of Primaporta, Justinian and His Attendants, and the January Page from the Très Riches Heures all glorify certain people despite having different functions, history, and style.
The Victory Stele of Naram Sin is am Akkadian, low-relief sculpture on limestone. The stele is 6’6” tall and depicts Naram Sins victory over the Lullubi (people of the Zagros mountains). Hierarchal scale plays a large part in composition as Naram Sin is the largest figure of the scene; he towers over his own army and his enemies. The Lullabi impaled by spears, laying dead, and underneath Naram Sin. His army and enemies look up towards him which glorifies him even further. Lastly, the sun, which sits above a mountain, is homage to the Akkadian sun god, this shows how the gods are on Naram Sin’s side, adding religious authority to his obvious military authority.
Augustus of Primaporta is a marble statue of Augustus. It is meant to be propagandistic and celebrate his military victories. Augustus stands in a contropposto pose and has an outstretched arm as if he is commanding an army. He appears young and strong, with an idealized body. The marble statue is 6’8” tall which is meant to further glorify Augustus. This sentiment is only continued with the amount of symbolism in the piece. For instance, Cupid riding a dolphin is meant to celebrate Augustus’ naval victories and to show his positive relation with the gods. All of these aspects of Augustus of Primaporta show Augustus as secular authority aided by religious vocabulary.
The Byzantine mosaic, Justinian and His Attendants, is located on the apse San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy. The medium of mosaic proves that Justinian was wealthy and wanted that to be shown through his commission. Justinian is surrounded by both Christian soldiers (identified by the Rho Chi shield) and clergymen (identified by the cross, Bible, and robes) which shows his position as both a military leader and man of the church. He is wearing purple fabric and an elaborately jeweled crown which show Justinian’s royalty and status. A main aspect of the mosaic is that Justinian is holding bread for the Eucharist during mass. As an apsidal mosaic, this makes Justinian a part of the regular rituals that take place within the church. Overall, this shows the people of the church that Justinian is their ruler and follows the same religion as they do, proving he is religious authority.
Très Riches Heures, is a book of hours meant to as a personal manuscript for prayers throughout the year. The Duke of Berry commissioned the Limbourg Brothers to make the Très Riches Heures which is now seen as a key example of Gothic illumination. In the January page of this manuscript, the Limbourg Brothers depict a scene where the Duke sits at the head of a table and is surrounded by guests and expensive goods. The shows that the Duke is wealthy and has good taste. There are also symbols relating to the Duke’s rule including fleur-de-lis and a tapestry in the background of knights. Despite this illumination being propagandistic, it will likely only be seen by the Duke since it was his personal manuscript, meaning this page allows the Duke to celebrate his own wealth and company.
All of these pieces use similar techniques to accomplish the glorification of the ruler who commissioned the work. For instance, The Victory Stele of Naram Sin, Augustus of Primaporta, and Justinian and His Attendants all use scale to emphasize and convey the importance of the respective leader. Naram Sin is simply much larger than all other people around him. Likewise, Augustus of Primaporta and Justinian and His Attendants are large works which shows their power and status. Status is also conveyed through the fine clothing and gifts. This goes to show a continuous admiration of the wealthy and powerful.
The most impactful aspect of the historical and cultural circumstances of these pieces is religion and what role religion plays in the daily life. Depending on religion’s regular importance and vocabulary, the piece have a certain degree of religious references. Whether this be Rome or Akkadian polytheism or Christianity, each piece pays some homage to the respective religion through its symbols. All four pieces use symbolism as a way to connect the leader to the given culture: the Akkadian Sun God, the Roman Cupid, the Eucharistic symbol of bread, and the tapestry knights in the respective pieces all have meanings which are understood by the viewer of the same time and culture. This goes to show the importance of culture in religion throughout history and how it it was regarded by all people.
Despite having similar messages, these pieces have dramatically different styles. The Victory Stele of Naram Sin features stylized relief sculpture and twisted perspective. Augustus of Primaporta is a life-like sculpture in-the-round, inspired by classicism of Greek sculpture. Justinian and His Attendants is also stylized and emphasizes the importance of religion more than physical beauty compared to Augustus. Lastly, the January page of Très Riches Heures uses bright blue and gold leaf to emphasize the Duke’s wealth. Despite difference, power is conveyed.