Benin Bronze of an Oba with Two Assistants, 16th century, brass, 19” x 15”, Benin Kingdom (Nigeria), British Museum, London, Photo by Michel Wai via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Share-Alike 3.0 License.
This is one of hundreds of brass sculptures (mistakenly identified as bronze sculptures) created by the Edo people for the palace of the Court of Benin, which was a sprawling cluster of buildings in present-day Nigeria. Today this sculpture and … Continue reading
Punitavati, Shiva Saint, c. 1050, bronze, 19 5/8” x 8 7/8”, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Photo by Jacquelyn Mata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.
Jacquelyn Mata, a student at Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX, wrote this post. This beautiful yet haunting bronze sculpture portrays Punitavati, a Shiva Saint and a member of the Shaiva Nayanars, or “slaves of lord.” Hindus believe priests summoned deities … Continue reading
Reliquary of St. Thomas Becket, first quarter of the 12th century, Champlevé copper, engraved, chased, enameled and gilt, Musée national du Moyen Âge, Paris, Photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen via Wikimedia Common, Artwork in the Public Domain.
Champlevé (noun) A technique in enameling in which an artist creates hollows in a metal surface and fills it with enamel. The artist who crafted the champlevé enamel scene on the Reliquary of St. Thomas Becket carved it into copper before … Continue reading
Hegesandros, Polydoros, and Athanodoros of Rhodes, Laocoön and His Sons, Roman copy of 1st cen. CE sculpture. Marble, 6’ 7” high, Vatican Museum, Rome, Photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen via Wikimedia Commons, Artwork in the Public Domain.
The Art Minute University: This post was written by Meghan Rayford, a student at Southwestern University. Laocoön, who was the priest of Poseidon, was subjected to the wrath of Athena after he suggests that the Trojan horse, filled with the Greek … Continue reading
Constantine the Great, c. 315, marble, 8½ feet tall, Palazzo dei Conservatori, Musei Capitolini, Rome, Photo by Camille King via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.
Not long after the Roman Emperor Constantine defeated his foe Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, wresting control of the Roman Empire, he left Italy in 324 CE to found Constantinople, which is present-day Istanbul. This is not … Continue reading
Anish Kapoor, C Curve, 2007, Exhibited in Brighton in 2009, Photo by Dominic Alves via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.
“I think I understand something about space. I think the job of a sculptor is spatial as much as it is to do with form.” Anish Kapoor
Bloodletting Ritual of Lady Xoc, Lintel 24 of Structure 23, Maya site of Yaxchilan, Chiapas, Mexico, Photo by Michel wal via Wikimedia Commons, GNU Free Documentation License.
One of the things that come with the job of being a Mayan queen is the pain and blood loss associated with conjuring up royal ancestors. It was required of her office so that the Gods would continue to allow, … Continue reading
Robert Indiana, Love, original 1970, Shinjuku I-LAND Tower in Nishi-Shinjuku office district in Tokyo, Japan, Photo by TYO via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.
Robert Indiana Pop Artist Robert Clark was born on September 13, 1928 in New Castle, Indiana. He was adopted as an infant and moved frequently throughout Indiana during his childhood. Today, the artist lives on the island of Vinalhaven off … Continue reading
© 2013 Sally Whitman Coleman, PhD. All rights reserved.
Once the Queen Mother, or the Iyoba, of the Edo People from the Court of Benin in modern day Nigeria, gave birth to the King, or Oba’s, first son, she did not have any more children. She devoted the remainder … Continue reading
Victory Stele of Naram-Sin of Akkad, 2254-2218 B.C.E., pink limestone, Musee du Louvre, Paris, Photo by Profzucker via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.
Stele (noun) An upright stone slab decorated with sculpture or writing. The Victory Stele of Naram-Sin of Akkad shows the Mesopotamian King Naram-Sim’s victory over the Lullubi people in the Zagros Mountains in the 12th century B.C.E. In the stele, Naram-Sim is … Continue reading
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Shuttlecock, 1994, aluminum and fiber-reinforced plastic; painted with polyurethane enamel, 17 ft. 11 in. high x 15 ft. 1 in. crown diameter and 4 ft. nose cone diameter, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Photo by April Rinne via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.
“I am for an art that is political-erotical-mystical, that does something other than sit on its ass in a museum.” Claes Oldenburg
Michelangelo, Pietà, 1498-1499, marble, 68.5
Pietà (noun) A representation of a sorrowful Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Jesus, usually found in sculpture. The most famous example was sculpted by Michelangelo in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome for the French cardinal Jean de Billheres. The Pietà was an unusual … Continue reading