Art history CH 1

Question 1

Sculptures of nude women: Archaeologists nicknamed these sculptures as “Venuses”
Why does that nickname seem inappropriate or misleading (p. 17-18)?

Answer 1

Named after the Greco-Roman goddess of love and beauty inappropriate because no evidence exists for named gods and goddesses in human form during the Old Stone Age, also doubtful that these figurines represented deities of any kind.

Question 2

Most famous is the 4 ¼ inch sculpture popularly known as “Venus of Willendorf.” Be able to describe clearly and accurately the form and style of this sculpture and to connect the description to what may be conveyed and symbolized by the sculpture (its iconographic meaning).

Answer 2

the anatomical exaggeration has suggested to many that this and similar statues served as fertility images. Because of the lack of facial features, de-emphasis of the arms, hands, and feet, and the exaggerated proportions of the breasts, belly and thighs, we consider this sculpture as more abstracted and stylized.

Question 3

relief sculptures

Answer 3

in sculptor, figures projecting from a background of which they are a part. The degree of relief is designated ad high or low (bas), sunken (hollow) or intaglio. In the last the artist cuts the design into the surface so that the images highest projecting parts are no higher than the surface itself.

Question 4

sculpture in-the-round

Answer 4

free standing figures, carved or molded in three dimension.

Question 5

Carving

Answer 5

is a subtractive technique. The final form is a reduction of the original mass.

Question 6

Modeling

Answer 6

the shaping or fashioning of three-dimensional forms in a soft material such as clay, an additive technique

Question 7

Subtractive technique

Answer 7

the final form is a reduction of the original mass.

Question 8

Additive techniques

Answer 8

the artist builds up the forms, usually in clay around a framework, or armature. Also includes: molding and casting.

Question 9

Sculptures of nude women: Archaeologists nicknamed these sculptures as “Venuses”
Why does that nickname seem inappropriate or misleading (p. 17-18)?

Answer 9

Named after the Greco-Roman goddess of love and beauty inappropriate because no evidence exists for named gods and goddesses in human form during the Old Stone Age, also doubtful that these figurines represented deities of any kind.

Question 10

“Venus of Willendorf.” Be able to describe clearly and accurately the form and style of this sculpture and to connect the description to what may be conveyed and symbolized by the sculpture (its iconographic meaning).

Answer 10

the anatomical exaggeration has suggested to many that this and similar statues served as fertility images.

Question 11

Describe what features are exaggerated and stylized and what features are simplified and abstracted. What do these stylistic features suggest about the meaning, symbolism and function of the sculpture?

Answer 11

of the lack of facial features, de-emphasis of the arms, hands, and feet, and the exaggerated proportions of the breasts, belly and thighs, we consider this sculpture as more abstracted and stylized.

Question 12

“Bison with turned head” (1-8)

Answer 12

carved on a reindeer antler, served as a spear thrower. It shows a great deal of naturalism in the detailed rendering the nostril, ear, horns, and eye of the bison. The sculptor cleverly deals with restrictions of the horn’s shape by representing the bison using its tongue to flick a fly off its back, thus explaining the 180-degree turn of its head.