Psyche Revived by Love’s Kiss

Name: Psyche Revived by Love’s Kiss

Date: 1787

Location: The Louvre in Paris, France

Approximate Dimensions: 155 cm height

Sculptor: Antonio Canova

Medium: white marble

Picture taken by Chris Carter

Sources of info: a placard in the Louvre,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyche_Revived_by_Cupid%27s_Kiss

Significance of the work:

In this sculpture Cupid bears the wings and quiver. He is also youthful. This work is most significant in that it depicts one of the most important moments from the tale of Cupid and Psyche. It is a neoclassical work. It points out the period’s interest in emotion and love. The scene depicts Cupid awakening Psyche with a kiss. After having completed her final task given by Venus, she is overcome with sleep. Cupid’s kiss awakens her to new day. This sculpture shows the moment right after Psyche awakens. It is a good example of the passion and romance shared between the two immortals.

Eros

Name: Eros

Date: unknown

Location: The Louvre in Paris, France

Approximate Dimensions:

Sculptor: unknown

Medium: marble

Sources of info: a placard in the Louvre, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid

Picture taken by Chris Carter

Significance of the work:

Sculptures of Cupid often depict him holding a bow and having a quiver of arrows slung around his waist. Protruding from his back are two angelic wings. He is always either a child or a youth. He is even younger than depictions of the youthful Apollo. Sometimes he is shown playing or doing other childlike activities. Some sculptures even depict him with a buckler and helmet. Also he is frequently sculpted with his mother, Venus. This particular sculpture contains a few of those elements. Slung around his waist is a quiver and wings protrude from his back. He also has the childish look.

Dionysus in the Garden

Name: Dionysus statue in the Gardens in Maribell Palace

Date: 1730

Location: Gardens in Maribell Palace

Approximate Dimensions: unknown

Sculptor: Ottavio Mosto

Medium: stone

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salzburg#Main_sights, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Mirabell

Picture taken by Chris Carter

Significance of the work:

This depiction of Dionysus, unlike the similar one of Artemis, is faithful to the standard classical model of him. He is carrying his aulos and has a satchel hanging on his side. The most prominent feature of this statue, though, is that Dionysus is posed in a feminine position. His satchel even covers up his most prominent male feature. Because of these aspects, this statue is easily identified as Bacchus. When this is compared with renditions of Artemis, it is interesting to see how she is sculpted in a masculine manner but Bacchus is sculpted in a very feminine form. To me this seems to say that the ancient Greeks sometimes believed that gender was not always about the way you were born but the way you carried yourself.

Dionysus and his Maenads

Name: Dionysus and his Maenads

Date: Mid first century

Location: Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii

Approximate Dimensions: 7x20 feet

Painter: unknown

Medium: Wall painting in a Roman triclinium

Sources of info: Roman Art, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triclinium, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_of_the_Mysteries

Picture taken by Chris Carter

Significance of the work:

In this painting of Dionysus, the god of wine, and his ecstatic followers the Maenads, many elements of the Dionysian cult are represented. One of the rites of the cult was initiation. To join the cult, one had to go through the initiation rite of being hit by a switch. This painting shows a young woman being whipped by a half-naked angel. Another element represented is the behavior of the Maenads. According to Roman Art, “One (Maenad) is naked and dancing with cymbals, a twirling piece of drapery flowing from her shoulder” (89). Finally, this painting shows the normal entourage of Dionysus. He is normally accompanied by his Maenads, Silenus, and satyrs. This painting contains all those elements.

The Hermes Drinking Fountain

Name: The Hermes Drinking Fountain

Date: unknown

Location: Budapest, Hungary

Approximate Dimensions: 7x8 feet

Sculptor: unknown

Medium: Copper

Sources of info: myself, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermes#Hermes_in_classical_art

Picture taken by Chris Carter

Significance of the work:

As the patron god of travelers, Hermes would provide care and protection for those on a journey. This sculpture in Budapest sits right atop a drinking fountain for passerbies in the street. Since Hermes cares for travelers, it is appropriate that a fountain for thirsty travelers bears his image. All that was needed was a sacrifice or a prayer. I read one article that said when a traveler bent over to drink from Hermes’ fountain, it looked as if the drinker was bowing in prayer to this god of travelers.

Seated Buddha

Name: Seated Buddha

Date: second-third century AD

Location: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond

Approximate Dimensions: 34 inches

Sculptor: unknown. Commissioned by the Kushan rulers of northwest India

Medium: dark grey schist

Sources: Arts and Culture

Picture taken from: http://www.vmfa.state.va.us/collections/2002_556.html

Significance of the work:

This work is from the northwest area of India. It was commissioned in the Kushan Empire around the second and third centuries AD. This and other Buddha sculptures from the era show a Greco-Roman influence. This particular seated Buddha is wearing a deep ridged Roman toga. Its facial features are very much like Apollo’s.

Apollo Belvedere

Name: Apollo Belvedere

Date: a copy. The original dates from 350-325 BC

Location: The Vatican Museums

Approximate Dimensions: 2.24 m

Sculptor: Leochares (the original)

Medium: white marble

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Belvedere

Picture taken by: Chris Carter

Significance of the work:

This sculpture shows Apollo just after he has slain the serpent, Python, who guards Delphi. This can be shown in how he is holding himself. In his upraised left hand is the remaining portion of a bow. Slung around his side is a quiver of arrows. Also, his muscles are still formed in such a way that it shows the effort he had put into shooting the arrow. Upon his head lays a strophium, the symbolic band of kings and gods. Finally, a tree stump is directly behind his right leg. This is a common feature of Apollo sculptures. Overall, this piece holds to the standard depiction of Apollo. In fact, it is one of the most famous depictions of the god. It has inspired other art works such as Albrecht Duerer’s 1504 engraving Adam and Eve

Apollo of Veii

Name: Apollo of Veii

Date: 510-500 BC

Location: National Etruscan Museum, room 21

Approximate Dimensions: 5x5 feet

Sculptor: Vulca

Medium: Terracotta

Sources of info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_of_Veii, Roman Art

Picture drawn by Chris Carter

Significance of this work:

This sculpture of Apollo is very distinct from its Greco-Roman counterparts. The distinctive sculpture of the Apollo of Veii serves to show that Etruscan conceptions of him differed slightly from Greek and later Roman ideas about him. First, in many traditional iconic statues of Apollo he is naked. This is to show that he is the model of youthful beauty. His statues traditionally depict him as youthful, beardless, well muscled, and symmetrical. His Greek and Roman statues depict him as the kouroς, which means a beardless youth. The Veii statue, though, is fully clothed and unsymmetrical. The Etruscans were not trying to dash the idea that he is the model of youthful beauty, but in their culture they did not normally sculpt naked statues. Second, Apollo is usually sculpted with a bow in his hand. The Apollo of Veii seems to not be carrying anything. The final difference is that most Apollo statues either have him stationary or reclining on a tree. The Veii depiction, though, shows him in full stride.

Artemis in the Garden

Name: Artemis statue in the Gardens in Maribell Palace

Date: 1730

Location: Gardens in Maribell Palace

Approximate Dimensions: unknown

Sculptor: Ottavio Mosto

Medium: stone

Picture taken by Chris Carter

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salzburg#Main_sights, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Mirabell

Significance of the work:

This sculpture of Artemis is different than some of the standard classical depictions of her. Normally, she is shown as a huntress resolutely focused on her prey. Also, she normally has a masculine figure and carries a bow and quiver of arrows. This statue of her, though, is the opposite of that in many ways. First, she has neither bow nor arrow. Also, she has a very feminine form. She holds herself more as Venus than the focused huntress that she is believed to be. Although, there is some commonality in clothes between this sculpture and the classical norm, her breastplate implies the presence of cleavage, whereas that feature of her is normally not as prominent. These two features seem to follow an overall trend in depicting Artemis.

Diane de Versailles

Name: Diane de Versailles (a Roman copy of Leochares’ original)

Date: unknown (original from 325 BC)

Location: Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities, Sully, ground floor, room 17 (The Louvre Museum)

Approximate Dimensions: 6ft. 6 ½ inches

Sculptor: Leochares (sculptor of the original)

Medium: marble

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Diane_de_Versailles_Leochares.jpg, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_of_Versailles

Picture taken by Marie-Lan Nguyen

Significance of the work:

This statue of Artemis is slightly larger than the average person. In my opinion, this seems to serve the purpose of reminding the viewer that the gods are still above man. Artemis is depicted as a huntress who is very manlike and slender. Immediately below her left side is a young, male deer, which is smaller than the average person. Immediately the viewer can see that this statue is proclaiming Artemis’ superiority over her prey. It is also significant that a deer accompany her since that animal is sacred to her. Her right arm is raised over her shoulder to grip an arrow. In her left hand she holds a fragment of bow. These simultaneous actions show her getting ready to strike. To add to this feeling of rising action, her face is focused on what seems to be her prey. This whole sculpture seems to capture her a moment before she is about to strike. This nicely shows the overall nature of Artemis as the goddess who lives for the hunt. She is not shown flaunting her body like the other frivolous Olympians; she maintains her chastity and lives instead to capture her prey.

The Rape of Proserpina

Name: The Rape of Proserpina

Date: 1621-1622

Artist: Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Location: Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy

Approximate Dimensions: 255 cm

Medium: white marble

Sources of info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proserpina http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/

TheRapeOfProserpinaBernini.html

Picture taken by: http://media.somewhereinblog.net/images/1148878113_tushonblo.jpg

Significance of the work:

Bernini was only 23 years old when he sculpted The Rape of Proserpina. In ancient mythology, the goddess Venus, in order to increase happiness of Pluto—the god of the underworld—instructed cupid to pierce him with an arrow of love. When Pluto emerged from the Volcano of Mt. Etna, he caught sight of his niece, Proserpina, daughter of Jupiter, playing with the nymph. Falling instantly in love with her, he abducted her and carried her below the earth to Hades. At the objection her parents, Pluto agreed to allow Proserpina to return to earth for six months out of every year. As a result she has been called the goddess of springtime, for when she returns, the earth is once again green and full of life.

Bernini's principal patron Scipione Borghese funded the creation of this masterpiece, but then gave it to Cardinal Ludovisi in 1622, who took it to his villa. It remained there until 1908, when the Italian state purchased it and finally returned it to the Galleria Borghese where it can be viewed today.

Fontana dei Nettuno

Name: Fontana dei Nettuno

Date: 1622

Artist: Michelangelo Naccherino

Location: Via Medina, Naples, Italy

Approximate Dimensions: unknown

Medium: marble

Sources of info: http://www.napoli.com/english/blog12.php

Picture taken by: Kate Tricarico

Significance of the work:

The Fontana di Nettuno itself was original built in 1622 in honour of Viceroy Enrico Guzman count of Olivares. Over the years, it has been moved over six times, before finally resting along Via Medina where the city council decided that it was least in the way of both festivals and traffic. Historically, In 1629, it was moved up to what is noe Piazza Plebiscito at the command of the viceroy, Alvarez de Toledo. Then, in 1634, it was moved down to the sea at Santa Lucia however at that sight it was in such danger of being exposed to artillery fire that it was moved up to via Medina, near to where it is today. In 1659, it was moved to Calata San Marco, about two blocks from the Via Medina location. In 1700 it was moved back to via Medina to be nearer to the main road leading down to the port. At that time, sea horses and tritons were added to the statue. In 1898 it was moved to Piazza Borsa, however that square is currently the site of construction for the new Naples Metro underground train line, and as a result Neptune was back to via Medina in 2001 where it was first placed in 1640.

Belvedere Muses

Name: Belvedere Muses

Date: 1714-1723

Designer: Dominique Girard

Location: Belvedere Palace, Vienna, Austria

Approximate Dimensions: unknown

Medium: white marble

Sources of info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belvedere_(palace)

Understanding Architecture: Its Elements History and Meaning.

Picture taken by: Kate Tricarico

Significance of the work:

Belvedere is an architectural term adopted from the Italian phrase for “fair view”, which refers to any architectural structure sited to take advantage of a view. The actual structure can be of any form, whether a turret, a cupola or an open gallery. An exmple of another well known Belvedere buildings in Europe would be the Vatican Palace which was created under the commission of Pope Julius II. Within the courtyard of this particular Belvedere stood the Apollo Belvedere, called such because of the statues location within the belvedere walls.

The Belvedere Palace in Vienna, Austria is one of the most happily situated properties in the capital and a classic example of Belvedere architecture. While the gardens of this palace do not contain such famous works as the Apollo Belvedere, the gravel paths are lines with sculpted marble statues of the nine muses from Greek and Roman mythology. These muses, all women, were called the daughters of Apollo and are highly venerated by poets and musicians.

Temple of Portunus

Title: Temple of Portunus (Temple of Fortuna Virilis)

Date: 6th century BC.

Architect: Unknown

Medium: travertine and tufa covered in stucco.

Dimensions: approximately 70x 40x 40 feet

Significance of the work:

This temple used to face incoming ships in the Port Tiberinus, but the flood of 1870 caused the city to regulate the river watershed. Dikes were built to contain the Tevere and the purpose of the temple was forgotten. It was not until the ancient port was rediscovered very close to the site that the misappropriated name, Temple of Fortuna Virilis, was changed to the Temple of Portunus. It is so well preserved because it was converted into a Christian church in the 9^thcentury AD. Its architecture is influenced by both the Greeks and Etruscans. The porch and freestanding ionic columns point towards the Greek influence while the single front entrance, engaged columns in the back, and high podium (now partly buried) point to the Etruscans.

Portunus is a local Roman god known as the protector of seafarers and harbors, although originally god of doors and keys. His role got stretched through oral tradition and time so he is now known to oversee the comings and goings of travelers particularly on the sea.

Photo: http://images.google.com/imgres?

imgurl=http://www.eternalchaos.com/Rome/Portunus.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.eternalchaos.com/rome.html&usg=__Ip_lpGqqRK2HQVBpE42escFtJyk=&h=1920&w=2560&sz=465&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=8JhJy-VEr5nyjM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtemple%2Bof%2Bportunus%2Brome%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

Sources: http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/romanvirilis/virilis.html

http://www.livius.org/ro-rz/rome/rome_t_portunus.html

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=5cc56ecb5bd106a6776f6694c0d012ce

http://www.novaroma.org/nr/Portunus

Apollo and Daphne

Title: Apollo and Daphne

Sculptor: Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Dates: 1622-1625

Dimensions: approximately 6 feet

Location: Borghese Gallery- Rome, Italy

Sources:

http://www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/en/edafne.htm

http://www.loggia.com/myth/daphne3.html

Image by: http://www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/en/edafne.htm

At the age of 24 Bernini was a master at art and capturing raw emotion in his sculptures. His statue, Apollo and Daphne tells the story of impossible love and the measures that are taken by the lover and the loved. The myth goes that Apollo sees Eros (son of Aphrodite) playing with arrows and insults him. In revenge, Eros shoots Apollo with one arrow to make him fall in love. Eros also shoots Daphne with one that makes her spurn love. Apollo pursues her for her love and she flees in fear. As he gains on her, she calls to her father, Peneus (a river god, child of Oceanus) for help. Hearing her cries he turns her into a laurel tree to protect her from the lust of Apollo. Apollo vows to use her branches as his crown, and to decorate his harp and bow. He also promises to always take care of her, and so the Laurel leaves have never decayed. Bernini inscribed the podium this statue rests upon with the words, “Those who love to pursue fleeting forms of pleasure, in the end find only leaves and bitter berries in their hands.”

Apollo Saettante

Deity: Apollo

Title: Apollo Saettante

Artist: Unknown

Date: 3^rd Century B.C.

Medium: bronze

Location: Temple of Apollo (Pompeii, Italy)

Photo from: http://www.pompeii.org.uk/public/foto/musei/64apollo4_GRANDE.jpg

Significance of work:

The statue on display at the Temple of Apollo in Pompeii is actually a replica of the original which is usually in National Museum of Naples but is being restored to be put on display in the Getty Villa in Los Angeles until 2011. At the time of Mt. Vesuvius’s eruption, Apollo was the main deity of Pompeii. In this statue he shown to be holding a bow and arrow. This sculpture is thought to have come from a group of statues portraying his and Artemis’s destruction of the children of Niobe. Niobe, a mother of 14, criticized the two twins’ mother, Leto for bearing only the two children. Apollo and Artemis responded by killing all of Niobe’s 14 children. These statues would have served as a reminder to the Pompeian’s of the gods’ power over their everyday life.

Council of the Gods

Title: Council of the Gods

Artist: Giovanni Lanfranco (1582-1647) and Domenico Corvi

Date: 1624-25 - Lanfranco

Finished: 1779-1782- Corvi

Medium: Fresco (paint on plaster)

Dimensions: approxametly30feet by 20 feet

Location: Sala della Loggia, Borghese Gallery, Rome, Italy

Source: http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/l/lanfranc/council.html

http://www.flashcardmachine.com/baroque-midterm.html

Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Lanfranco,_Giovanni_-The_Council_of_Gods_-_1624-25.jpg

Significance of the work:

This work was completed under the patron of Scipione Borghese, the same commissioner for Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne. The painting depicts the gods gathered around Jupiter in the heavenly realm. Venus is seen as the nude to the left of Jupiter, and Apollo is next to her dressed for war. The water gods are portrayed at the bottom of the painting holding the typical trident. Hermes is flying in on the right to deliver a message to Jupiter. The room would have been used as a banquet hall with the pope seated beneath Jupiter. The surrounding telamones and Lunnettes represent the rivers of the earth.

The Hunt of Diana

Deity:Diana

Title: The Hunt of Diana

Artist: Domenico Zampieri (Domenichino)

Dimensions: cm. 225x320

Medium: oil on canvas

Date: 1616-17

Location: Gallery Borghese- Rome, Italy

Source:http://www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/en/ediana.htm

Photo: http://www.artexpertswebsite.com/pages/artists/artists_a-k/domenichino/Domenichino_TheHuntOfDiana.jpg

Significance of the work:

This painting uses Diana and her nymphs to relate the events of the archery contest of book five in Virgil’s Aeneid. The archers in the painting and the poem first shoot a tree, then a ribbon, and finally a falling bird. Domenicho was working under Cardinal Aldobrandini, but this painting was taken by Cardinal Scipione Borghese to decorate his villa. Diana is the Roman goddess of the hunt and protector of children. Her Greek equivalent is Artemis.

Hercules & Telephus

Title: "Hercules & Telephus "

Location: Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

Material: Marble
Height: 2.62 meters

Date: 1st - 2nd centaury AD

Original artist: Lysippe

Source: http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/S26.10.html

http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Telephus.html

Photo: Caitlyn Mitchell

Significance of the work:

This statue depicts Hercules holding his son, Telephus, whose mother is Augne_, daughter of King Aleus. When Aleus discovers the birth of their child, he abandons him on Mount Parthenius in Arcadia. Left to die, Telephus’ only nourishment comes from a fawn who nurses him until he is discovered by shepards who then adopt and raise him. This statue portrays the nursing fawn that saves Telephus’s life. This statue found in the Louvre is actually a Roman replica of a Greek statue from the fourth century BC.

Hercules and Cacus

Name: Hercules & Cacus

Date: 1534

Artist: Bartolommeo Bandinelli

Location: Piazza della Signoria , Firenze, Italy

Approximate Dimensions: height : 5.05 m

Medium: white Carrara marble

Sources of info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_and_Cacus

Picture taken by: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Firenze-piazza_signoria_statue04.jpg

Significance of the work:

In Roman Mythology Hercules was the strongest man on earth. Besides tremendous physical strength, he had great self-confidence since he was the mortal son of the gods. Called Heracles by the Greeks, Hercules was not blessed with great intelligence, but his bravery made up for any lack of cunning. He was easily angered, and his sudden outbursts of rage often harmed innocent bystanders.

Here Hercules stands bearing the head of the fire-belching monster Cacus during his tenth attempt for stealing cattle. According to myth,as Heracles slept, the monster took a liking to his herd of cattle and slyly stole eight of them - four bulls and four cows - by dragging them by their tails, so as to leave no trail. In a rage Hercules, found Cacus and beheaded him as punishment of his deeds.

In this statue, Hercules is the symbol of physical strength while Michelangelo’s statue of David, which at one point rested beside Hercules, was the symbol for spiritual strength. The Medici family in Florence esteemed both of these traits and hoped that the statues in the Piazza would symbolize the nature of their reign.