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Ancient Art - Essay Example

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Ancient Art - Essay Example
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast two works of Ancient Art from two different museums. This paper will explore the materials used, the style, the meaning, the symbolism in the techniques used in creating the artworks.

Ancient Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, the Louvre, Paris, France, and the Smithsonian Institute's Freer Gallery and Sackler Gallery in Washington, DC have some of the most impressive examples of ancient art in the world. This paper will look at works from two of these museums for comparison.
One of the pieces of art that I have chosen is located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It is entitled Seated Harp Player and was created ca. 2800–2700 B.C. E., in the Early Cycladic period. It is a three dimensional work of art, possessing height, width, and depthhighly. It is approximately 11.5 cm tall. The material it is made of is marble and the technique is considered a sculpture in the around, because it can be viewed from all sides. The texture of the marble appears to be unpolished. The value scale of the marble is white in color, although it is discolored with age.
The form and line of this sculpture is a depiction of a man seated in a high back chair playing the harp. The molding of the arms and legs of the man distinguish this work. The hands are depicted as strong, but sensitive. The elbow joints, fingers, and ears are carefully articulated and molded with sensitivity. Through the look on the face of the man and his position in the chair, the artist is this telling us that this man and the people of that era loved music and the arts in general. The attention to detail in this sculpture is remarkable in the fact that this sculpture is 5000 years old. One can only imagine what the artist had to do to get this amount of detail into his work using the tools that were available at that time. Even the belt or penis strap around his waist is a good example of the

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