Formal Analysis, Contextualizing, and Compare and Contrast of the Egyptian Sculpture of Isis Nursing Horus and the Byzantine Icon, the Virgin of Vladimir
A formal analysis, contextualizing, and compare and contrast of the Egyptian sculpture of Isis nurturing Horus and the Byzantine icon, The Virgin of Vladimir
This essay aims to investigate two different time periods in the history of art. It will scrutinize the influence that the respective societal contexts had on the different artists, which in turn, caused them to arrange the formal elements in a specific way. I will be examining an Egyptian sculpture of the god Isis nursing Horus, her son, as well as the Vladimir Virgin icon, which dates from the Byzantine era. Experts vary on the precise ‘lifetime’ of the Ancient Egyptian civilization, but according to Mason (2007:10) it existed from 3100 BCE up to 30 BCE. The Byzantine era, which revolved around the Eastern Roman Empire of Byzantium, stretched from the 5th century up to the year 1453 (Tansey & Kleiner, 1996:285). I will start this investigation by doing a formal analysis of both artworks. Then I will go on to place each work in its respective context. Lastly, I will compare and contrast them.
The British Museum currently houses the small bronze statue of Isis nursing Horus (see Addenda A figure 1), which is a mere 22,8cm in height and 14,8cm in length (British Museum, n.d.). It dates back to the Late Egyptian Period, which falls in the timeframe after 600 BCE (British Museum, n.d.). Examining this artwork reveals a lot about the arrangement of the formal elements in the composition, as well as the reasons for it. The headdress forms the focal point of this three-dimensional composition, because of its large size, especially in relationship to the figures, as well as its placement at the highest plane of the composition, in example, on the deity’s head. According to Seawright (2011: par1) the headdress represent the power attributed to the specific god and could be swopped around as deities took over one another’s powers, as seen in this sculpture, where Isis is wearing the headdress of Hathor. It
This essay aims to investigate two different time periods in the history of art. It will scrutinize the influence that the respective societal contexts had on the different artists, which in turn, caused them to arrange the formal elements in a specific way. I will be examining an Egyptian sculpture of the god Isis nursing Horus, her son, as well as the Vladimir Virgin icon, which dates from the Byzantine era. Experts vary on the precise ‘lifetime’ of the Ancient Egyptian civilization, but according to Mason (2007:10) it existed from 3100 BCE up to 30 BCE. The Byzantine era, which revolved around the Eastern Roman Empire of Byzantium, stretched from the 5th century up to the year 1453 (Tansey & Kleiner, 1996:285). I will start this investigation by doing a formal analysis of both artworks. Then I will go on to place each work in its respective context. Lastly, I will compare and contrast them.
The British Museum currently houses the small bronze statue of Isis nursing Horus (see Addenda A figure 1), which is a mere 22,8cm in height and 14,8cm in length (British Museum, n.d.). It dates back to the Late Egyptian Period, which falls in the timeframe after 600 BCE (British Museum, n.d.). Examining this artwork reveals a lot about the arrangement of the formal elements in the composition, as well as the reasons for it. The headdress forms the focal point of this three-dimensional composition, because of its large size, especially in relationship to the figures, as well as its placement at the highest plane of the composition, in example, on the deity’s head. According to Seawright (2011: par1) the headdress represent the power attributed to the specific god and could be swopped around as deities took over one another’s powers, as seen in this sculpture, where Isis is wearing the headdress of Hathor. It