Art and Politics

October 22, 2013

Today: Art and Politics

Propaganda Increase power, prestige, standing Promote policies Connection to the god(s) Shape how people perceive you

Augustus of Primaporta, Roman Empire, c. 20 BCE

Assyrian Empire: 2500-600 BCE

Assyrian Palace Reliefs

! Assyrian kings decorated their palaces with tons of reliefs ! Narrative, praising the kings accomplishments ! Military victories ! The hunt ! Date mostly from 900-600 BCE

Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions Palace of Ashurbanipal, Nineveh (Iraq) 645-640 BCE

Ashurnasirpal Hunting Lions Palace of Ashurnasirpal, Nineveh 645 BCE; 3 tall

Throne Room

Ashurnasirpal Hunting Lions Palace of Ashurnasirpal, Nineveh 645 BCE; 3 tall

Roman Art, Politics, and Propaganda

! Augustus (27 BCE-14CE) ! Battle of Actium, 31 BCE ! Roman Empire ! Art in the service of politics ! Accomplishments Pax Romana ! Gods ! Social policies

Portrait of Augustus as a General, aka Augustus of Primaporta early 1st c. CE copy of a bronze original of 20 BCE

5th c. Classical Greek sculpture

contrapposto

Idealism

Portrait of Augustus as a General, aka Augustus of Primaporta early 1st c. CE copy of a bronze original of 20 BCE

Message so far: Great military leader Powerful orator Body of a Greek athlete Is that all?

Portrait of Augustus as a General, aka Augustus of Primaporta early 1st c. CE copy of a bronze original of 20 BCE

Sky god Sol

Hispania Female barbarian Parthian

Roman: Romulus? Aeneas? Mars?

Apollo

Diana

Tellus (Mother Earth)

Portrait of Augustus as a General, aka Augustus of Primaporta early 1st c. CE copy of a bronze original of 20 BCE

Political Message: Great military leader Powerful orator Body of a Greek athlete Domestic victory Descended from the gods International victory Connection to the gods Conqueror of barbarians Bringer of the Pax Romana

Mughal Empire in India: 1526-1858

! Descendants of Genghis Khan ! At the height of their power, they controlled most of the Indian subcontinent ! Most active Muslim dynasty on the continent ! Lasted until 1858 when the British took over

Mughal Painting
! They are among the most treasured works of Indian art ! Incorporates traditions of many other cultures: ! Persian, European, native Indian, Islamic ! Painters names; records ! Categorized by reign: ! Babur, Akbar, Jahingir, Shah Jahan

Jahingir: 1569-1627
! Son of Akbar ! Period of great appreciation for the arts ! Broad tastes ! Portraiture was becoming popular ! Preoccupation with illusionism ! Bring together the contributions of the Mughal Empire

An allegorical representation of the Emperor Jahingir seated on an hourglass throne color and gold on paper height: 11 early 17th century

portraiture illusionism mullah Muslim prince King James I Bichitr (artist?) putti

Oh Shah, may the span of your life be a thousand years.

Putti

Hyacinthe Rigaud, Louis XIV 1701, oil on canvas Originally for Philip V of Spain

Louis XIV aka Sun King: 1643-1715 Apollo eur-de-lis

Anthony van Dyck Charles I at the Hunt 1635, oil on canvas

Carolus I Rex Magnae Britanniae

Anthony van Dyck Charles I at the Hunt 1635, oil on canvas

Setting, pose, clothing, iconography, mood

Anthony van Dyck Charles I at the Hunt 1635, oil on canvas

Carolus I Rex Magnae Britanniae

lisabeth-Louise Vige-Lebrun Portrait of Marie Antoinette with her Children 1787, oil on canvas

Salon of 1787

lisabeth-Louise Vige-Lebrun Portrait of Marie Antoinette with her Children 1787, oil on canvas

How is each ruler depicted? Composition, style, setting, message, mood, iconography

! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aiSy4cWFFg

Antoine-Jean Gros, Napoleon at the Plague House at Jaffa, 1804 Ottoman Turks

Vocab
! oil painting ! miniature ! salon Pax Romana ! contrapposto