M4 ART, WAR & THE MAKING OF HISTORY

ART 299 VISUAL CULTURE GLOBAL CONTEXT

Module 4 Overview “There is no document of civilization that is not at the same time a

document of barbarism.” —Walter Benjamin   Topics: what did Walter Benjamin mean by this? what is the relationship

between war, history, and art, as we see it in the works for this week?

Terms: relief sculpture, pictorial narrative, stele, ground line, hierarchy of scale

Read: Kleiner, Chapter 3, pp. 54-63 Look: Victory stele of Eannatum (2-7) Statue of Gudea Head of an Akkadian Ruler (2-12) Victory Stele of Naram-sin (2-13) Ashurbanipal hunting lions (2-23) Palette of King Narmer (3-1)

Mespotamia, SumeriaVictory Stele of Eannatum“Stele of the Vultures”c. 2450 BCElimestoneLouvre

Stele of the Vultures, detail of soldiers

Stele of the Vultures, detail of the king and the vulture

Stele of the Vultures,detail of the enemiesbeing devoured by the vulture

Mespotamia, SumeriaLagash,Statue of Gudea,c. 2120 BCEdiorite

Mesopotamia, SumeriaLagashStanding Gudea,c. 2120 BCEdioriteLouvre

Mespotamian, SumerianLagashStele of Musicc. 2120 BCE

MespotamianAkkadianfragment of a Stele of Victory

Mesopotamia, Akkadian, Head of a Ruler, bronze, c. 2400 BCE

http://www.learner.org/courses/globalart/work/266/index.html

Mespotamia,Akkadian,Victory Stele of Naram-Sinc. 2250 BCElimestone

Victory Stele of Naram-Sin, sandy limestone, c. 2250http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/victory-stele-naram-sinCLICK on FULL SCREEN for picture

Palette of King Narmer, c. 3200 BCE, reverse

Palette of King Narmer, c. 3200 BCE, obverse

Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions, c. 645 BCE, relief sculpture