4 ms·

Yeah I was expecting something like a greek statue with very realistic human features, but I guess this is still astounding since other statues of the time are

Yeah I was expecting something like a greek statue with very realistic human features, but I guess this is still astounding since other statues of the time are even less anthropomorphous.

pavlov 3y ago
We have a fairly good idea of how sculpture evolved in the past 5,000 years or so. By 2500 BCE, the Egyptians had already mastered realistic sculpture: https://www.mfa.org/gallery/masterpieces-of-egyptian-sculpture-from-the-pyramid-age https://www.mfa.org/gallery/masterpieces-of-egyptian-sculptu... But this discovery is a whopping 7,500 years older. It would have been inconceivably ancient to the pyramid builders too.
- voldacar 3y ago
  Those statues clearly show some development, but I wouldn't say the Egyptians had mastered realistic sculpture. There is clearly still some kouros-like stylized anatomy here, especially visible in the standing figures. Compare to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polykleitos#/media/File:Doryphoros_MIA_866.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polykleitos#/media/File:Doryph...
  - Sharlin 3y ago
    It’s of course difficult to say how much of the perceived non-realism was simply about cultural aesthetic preferences with regard to style. Especially given that the statues that have survived are those with special cultural or religious significance.
    - pavlov 3y ago
      The non-realist aspects were definitely tied to cultural and religious signifiers. There's actually a fascinating case where Egyptian artists were briefly allowed to abandon the established style and adopted a quite different one during the so-called Amarna period: https://artsandculture.google.com/usergallery/amarna-period-portraiture/LAKyELrHqtthLA?hl=en https://artsandculture.google.com/usergallery/amarna-period-... Much of the art became almost caricatures with elongated features, but there was simultaneously a realist tendency where portraits of royalty were suddenly allowed to have a likeness. The famous Nefertiti bust is from this era. It seems clear to me that the artists' skills was not the limitation, but the permitted range of expression was quite narrow until this rebel pharaoh unleashed the short-lived style revolution.

Yeah I was expecting something like a greek statue with very realistic human features, but I guess this is still astounding since other statues of the time are even less anthropomorphous.

pavlov 3y ago

We have a fairly good idea of how sculpture evolved in the past 5,000 years or so. By 2500 BCE, the Egyptians had already mastered realistic sculpture: https://www.mfa.org/gallery/masterpieces-of-egyptian-sculpture-from-the-pyramid-age https://www.mfa.org/gallery/masterpieces-of-egyptian-sculptu... But this discovery is a whopping 7,500 years older. It would have been inconceivably ancient to the pyramid builders too.

voldacar 3y ago
Those statues clearly show some development, but I wouldn't say the Egyptians had mastered realistic sculpture. There is clearly still some kouros-like stylized anatomy here, especially visible in the standing figures. Compare to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polykleitos#/media/File:Doryphoros_MIA_866.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polykleitos#/media/File:Doryph...
- Sharlin 3y ago
  It’s of course difficult to say how much of the perceived non-realism was simply about cultural aesthetic preferences with regard to style. Especially given that the statues that have survived are those with special cultural or religious significance.
  - pavlov 3y ago
    The non-realist aspects were definitely tied to cultural and religious signifiers. There's actually a fascinating case where Egyptian artists were briefly allowed to abandon the established style and adopted a quite different one during the so-called Amarna period: https://artsandculture.google.com/usergallery/amarna-period-portraiture/LAKyELrHqtthLA?hl=en https://artsandculture.google.com/usergallery/amarna-period-... Much of the art became almost caricatures with elongated features, but there was simultaneously a realist tendency where portraits of royalty were suddenly allowed to have a likeness. The famous Nefertiti bust is from this era. It seems clear to me that the artists' skills was not the limitation, but the permitted range of expression was quite narrow until this rebel pharaoh unleashed the short-lived style revolution.