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Discuss the difference Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Ancient Egypt, and Ancient India. Choose a total of TWO works of art, and be sure each one is from a different section.

Section 1: Works from Ancient Greek Culture

Fallen Warrior From The Temple Of Aphaia At Aegina.

The Pergamon Altar

The Parthenon (Temple of Athena)

The Siren Vase

Statue of Laocoon and His Sons

Suggested Sources for Greek Art. These sources are legitimate points of departure; that is, you can access them, and then search within them. Most of these are not links to specific works of art, they are encyclopedic or archival sources which you’ll have to search – and research.

Introduction to ancient Greek art – Smarthistory (Links to an external site.)

ART HISTORY RESOURCES ON THE WEB: Art in Ancient Greece (Links to an external site.)

Section 2: Works from Ancient Roman Culture

Fayum Mummy Portraits

Augustus of Prima Porta

The Roman Pantheon

Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs

Suggested Sources for Roman Art. These sources are legitimate points of departure; that is, you can access them, and then search within them. Most of these are not links to specific works of art, they are encyclopedic or archival sources which you’ll have to search – and research.

Ancient Rome (Links to an external site.)

ART HISTORY RESOURCES ON THE WEB: Art in Ancient Rome (Links to an external site.)

Section 3: Works from Ancient Egypt

Stela of Akhenaten and his Family

Mask of Tutankhamun

William the Faience Hippopotamus

Suggested Sources for Egyptian Art. These sources are legitimate points of departure; that is, you can access them, and then search within them. Most of these are not links to specific works of art, they are encyclopedic or archival sources which you’ll have to search – and research.

Ancient Egypt (Links to an external site.)

ART HISTORY RESOURCES ON THE WEB: Art in Ancient Egypt (Links to an external site.)

Section 4: Works from Ancient India

The Buddhas of Bamyan

Statue of The Buddha and His Attendants

Seated Buddha from Gandhara

Mariamman Temple, Bangkok

(Any) statue or Image of Ganesha (there are many)

(Any) Tibetan Buddhist Thangka painting of Green Tara (there are many)

South Asia (Links to an external site.)

Hinduism + Buddhism (Links to an external site.)

Art of India and Southeast Asia (Links to an external site.)

Remember, this assignment requires that you choose TWO works of art, only two, not two from each section. They must be from different cultures. For example, you might choose one work from Ancient Greece and one from Ancient India; or, one from Ancient Egypt and one from Ancient Rome, and so on. Just TWO works of art from the lists provided, from two different cultures.

Once you have made your selections, locate at least four online sources for each work of art. For each work, you should have at least TWO sources that are NOT videos. Otherwise, videos are fine. So, for example, for each work of art you might end up with four print sources and no videos, or three print sources and one video, or two print sources and two videos.

Be sure to remember that you must cite your sources in the text of your paper, immediately after the idea of quote you use from a source – and it must also be listed in the bibliography. You may use footnotes or endnotes for your citations in the text of your paper.

If you are unsure about how to cite your sources in the text portion of your paper, here are some guidelines. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html (Links to an external site.)

The links below are very useful sources for a great number of works of art, styles, and time periods. However, be sure to use the search function after you navigate to these sites – the little magnifying glass symbol in the upper right corner of the webpage – because these are vast collections which are too overwhelming to simply scroll through.Some patience with these sites will yield results.

Home | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Links to an external site.)

About IA (Links to an external site.)

Wayback Machine (Links to an external site.)

Getty Research Portal™ (Getty Research Institute) (Links to an external site.)

Create a bibliography for your sources by listing the title of the Webpage and the url. This is an example:

Laocoon, Greek mythology.com https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Mortals/Laocoon/laocoon.html (Links to an external site.)

If you need further guidance in constructing your bibliography, look here for MLA formatting guidelines.

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_basic_format.html (Links to an external site.)

Remember, you will need four sources for each work of art, for a total of eight in your completed bibliography. Be sure that your bibliography consists of sources that you actually use as you write your paper. You aren’t just compiling a list of information, you’re letting the reader know where you found the information that you relied on in formulating the ideas and claims in your paper.

Your bibliography should be on a separate page at the end of your paper and it should be called “Bibliography” or “Works Cited”.

After you have located eight good sources and completed your bibliography, then you should spend some time studying your sources.

Then begin writing. Here is the outline for your paper, with approximate word lengths for each section.

Your paper should visibly contain the subtitles listed below.

Place them in BOLD in the same manner as I am doing in the instructions.

Introduction, II. Description and Analysis, and III. Summary and Comparison, Type them into your paper before each section and follow the instructions for each section as you write your paper.

Introduction:

This is the section where you should tell the reader which two works of art you will be analyzing and comparing. You should tell the reader what the works are, (painting, sculpture, building, etc.), when they were created, where they were originally created, who created them if you can find this information, and where they are now if they are in a museum or if they have been relocated.

You should also tell the reader why you selected each work of art, and you should have compelling reasons for doing so. If you say, “I just randomly picked it,” then that’s honest, but also inadequate, because your choice of artworks, and your reasons for choosing them, are graded aspects of this assignment.

(This section – I. Introduction – should contain no less than 200 words)

Description and Analysis:

Begin by describing the first work of art in detail. Then discuss the cultural, religious, or political significance of the work of art. That is, does it depict a myth, a religious ideal, a victory in a battle, et cetera.

In this section you need to go beyond simply describing what the work of art stands for and explain WHY the work of art would have been especially significant for the culture that produced it and the people who first experienced it. Try to place yourself in the cultural context of the people who first experienced this work and then describe what it meant for them, and what it signified about their specific culture in its specific historical time.

THEN, you will continue analyzing the same work of art from a different perspective. INSTEAD OF describing the distinct and unique cultural and historical features of the work, you should now describe the UNIVERSAL features of the work. That is, what does the work say about universal human values – values that are part of human life and human nature regardless of time and place, such as dignity, freedom, heroism, strength, wealth, competition, tragedy, pride, humility, love, loss, sin, concern with death, and so on. All humans deal with these emotions, values, and concerns, so what does this particular artwork say about any of these issues?

(this section – II. A – should contain no less than 250 words)

Begin by describing the SECOND work of art in detail. Then discuss the cultural, religious, or political significance of the work of art. That is, does it depict a myth, a religious ideal, a victory in a battle, et cetera.

In this section you need to go beyond simply describing what the work of art stands for and explain WHY the work of art would have been especially significant for the culture that produced it and the people who first experienced it. Try to place yourself in the cultural context of the people who first experienced this work and then describe what it meant for them, and what it signified about their specific culture in its specific historical time.

THEN, you will continue analyzing the same work of art from a different perspective. INSTEAD OF describing the distinct and unique cultural and historical features of the work, you should now describe the UNIVERSAL features of the work. That is, what does the work say about universal human values – values that are part of human life and human nature regardless of time and place, such as dignity, freedom, heroism, strength, wealth, competition, tragedy, pride, humility, love, loss, sin, concern with death, and so on. All humans deal with these emotions, values, and concerns, so what does this particular artwork say about any of these issues?

(this section – II. B – should contain no less than 250 words)

Summary and Comparison

Focus on differences first. In your summary and comparison you should first take a good look at what you have already written. Then, you should explain the key differences between the two works of art, as you have described them and discussed them. You should not simply repeat what you have said above, but instead you should take time to EXPLAIN how the differing cultural, religious, and political contexts influenced the production of each work. You should explicitly contrast the two works and their two cultures, and, in doing so, explain why the artworks look different. You should be very specific, and provide facts and details as needed. For example, if the artworks are made of different materials, perhaps you’ll say why – was it a supply issue, or do the materials represent some value or ideal, or?

(this section – III. A – should contain no less than 150 words)

Then focus on similarities. What do both work say about universal human values – values that are part of human life and human nature regardless of time and place, such as dignity, freedom, heroism, strength, wealth, competition, tragedy, pride, humility, love, loss, sin, concern with death, and so on. All humans deal with these emotions, values, and concerns, so what does this particular artwork say about any of these issues? However, you should NOT JUST say, “They both deal with universal values” but you should say, “This is the distinct and specific way that artwork #1 deals with or portrays these issues, and this is the distinct and specific way that artwork #2 deals with or portrays these issues.” That is, you should show how each work of art may be addressing universal human concerns, but in a slightly different way, or with different emphasis.

(this section – III. B – should contain no less than 150 words)

There is no need for any further summary or conclusion.

Your Bibliography or Works Cited page containing at least eight sources, as described above, must be included at the end of your paper.