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Greek and Roman Art: Compare and Contrast

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Greek and Roman Art: Compare and Contrast
Sylvia Williams
HUMA/205
March 31, 2012
William Figueroa/instructor

Greek and Roman Art: Compare and Contrast
The Doryphoros also known as the Spear Bearer was created by Greek sculptor Polykleitos. He created this statue depicting an athlete or the ideal man of equal proportions, combining observations with mathematical calculations (Frank, 2002-2011). The materials used were marble and the process or technique used to create such a masterpiece was to show the human at its finest, at rest (Frank, 2002-2011). The colors used vary; from the beginning it was marble and also bronze as well as terra cotta was used (Lapatin). The subject matter is the human form and I think it can be representational and abstract art. Representational because it does represent the human form and it is a form we can recognize from the everyday world and abstract because although it is of the human form, no subject was used, it was a vision; therefore meaning it was the essence or an object or idea (Frank, 2002-2011).

She-Wolf is the topic chosen for the Roman Art. She-wolf is a bronze sculptor of two infants suckled by a she-wolf. The infants, found by a shepherd were raised by him and his wife; whom named the twins Romulus and Remus (Joe, 2008). It was said to be constructed around 500 BCE, with the twins added in the late 15th century (Sullivan, 2006). The materials used were bronze. Just like the Doryphoros, the material used was bronze and it would be considered representational and the meaning of this piece of art is showing the wolf, nursing and protecting the infants. The message is showing how motherhood comes in different forms.

The Doryphoros and the Roman Art were constructed between 450 and 500BCE and both were created using bronze. They each show strength, while the She-wolf also shows protection.

Reference
Frank, P. (2002-2011). Prebles Artforms. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Joe, J. (2008, November 16). Tales of Rome. Retrieved from Timeless Myths: http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/gallery/shewolf.jpg
Lapatin, K. D. (n.d.). Reviews.Art Bullentin, 79(1), 148. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.proxy.cecybrary.com/ehost/detail?sid=05440ca2-4ef9-489e-953a-82abffe9c9bd%40sessionmgr13&vid=4&hid=116&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=vth&AN=9704291784
Sullivan, M. A. (2006). She-Wolf, Capitoline Museum. Retrieved from Rome, Italy: http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/italy/rome/capitolinemuseumone/shewolf.html

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