Download Style Review: Mesopotamia (Ancient Near East)

Style Review: Mesopotamia (Ancient Near East)
The art of ancient Mesopotamia is considered non-Western/European. A thorough understanding of the
art of this region will be essential for the AP exam.
Region: Present day Iraq, Iran and Syria
Time span: 3500 BCE - 636 CE
Sumerian Art ca. 3200-2600 BCE
Generally, Sumerian art can be characterized by the conical forms of the figures and the large-eyes.
Sumerians employed hierarchy of scale and composite views when depicting figures.
Worshipper
Standard of Ur
Warka Vas
The Sumerians developed the ziggurat, a pyramid-like structure that supports a temple.
The Sumerians approached the most holy part of their temples, the cella by means of a bent axis. A
typical Western church uses a straight axis to approach its holiest part, the altar
Because of the vertical orientation of the ziggurat and temple, the concept of god(s) existing up in the
heavens has a history that predates Christianity.
The popularity of depicting animals adopting human characteristics is a popular characteristic of
Sumerian art.
Neo-Sumerian Art ca. 2100 BCE
Gudea the ensi of Lagash created temples and many diorite portraits of himself to honor the god,
Ningirsu. Departing from the usual royal portraits of depicting the ruler as a mighty warrior, Gudea is
instead shown praying or another humble gesture.
Akkadian Art ca. 2600-2200 BCE
The features of this fractured head of an Akkadian ruler can be described as stylized in that the hair,
cap, brows are all reduced to regular, repeating patterns. It is a synthesis of naturalistic and abstract
patterns. The medium is hollow-cast copper.
As means of protecting personal property and documents, Mesopotamian cultures created the cylinder
seal which is simply a low relief design made form a cylindrical piece of ivory, glass, lapis lazuli, etc. that
when rolled over soft clay, the design is replicated.
The Victory stele of Naram-Sin is one of the first landscapes in Mesopotamian art that rejects the
formal composition on registers. In typical ancient fashion, the ruler, Naram-Sin is portrayed as the
largest and strongest of his men (hierarchy of scale). The defeated Lullubi people are fallen, weak and
pleading for mercy. Equating Naram-Sin to a god is revealed in his close placement to the stars on top of
the mountain.
Babylonian Art ca. 1780 BCE
The Stele with the law code of Hammurabi contains one of the first written law codes. Written in
Akkadian, the cuneiform characters compose thirty-five hundred lines of the judicial code. Hammuarbi is
handed the measuring rod from the god Shamash, emphasizing that the code and King Hammurabi are
divinely inspired.
An example of some of the crimes and consequences include:
 If one steals from a temple, he shall be killed.
 Adultery is punishable by both offenders being bound and thrown in the water.
 Eye for an eye…
Neo-Babylonian ca. 575 BCE
The glazed brick Ishtar Gate from the King Nebuchadnezzar’s glorious city of Babylon was one of the
many entrances to the city, which contained the fabled hanging gardens.
Hittite Art ca 1400 BCE
The tradition of guardian lions placed in an entrance originated with the Lion Gate guarding the Hittite
citadel at Boghazköy, Turkey.
Assyrian Art ca. 720 BCE-640 BCE
The particularly war-like Assyrians asserted their power and authority of their warriors and leaders
through highly stylized reliefs and monumental lamassu in their palaces and citadels.
Persian Art ca. 521-250 BCE
The palace of Darius I and Xerxes I at Persepolis was heavily fortified complex situated on a large
platform overlooking the plain below. The Assyrian panache of reliefs and guardian figures adorned the
wall surfaces throughout the palace. Greek art of this time contained many of the stylistic elements
found here which testifies the extent of cultural exchange through trade.