DOORS OF BISHOP BERNWARD

Artist: N/A

Location: Abbey Church of St. Michael, Hildesheim, Germany

Aprox. Date: 1015 CE

Medium: Bronze

These doors are one of the most complex projects ever taken.  Each door was cast as a single sheet and chiseled to add finer details, such as the lion heads which are also the door handles.  Each section of the door portrays a different scene from the Bible, ranging from the formation of Adam and Eve, to the Nativity scene, to Jesus' crucifixion.  These doors were as magnificent as they were massive.
Website acquired from:  http://academics.ivc.edu/arts/visual/history/projects/bishopbernward/doors.html

ROYAL PORTAL, WEST FACADE, CHARTES CATHEDRAL

Artist: N/A

Location: Cathedral of Notre Dame, France

Aprox. Date: 1145-1155

Medium: Columns on the Chartes Cathedral

Each column depicts either a king, queen, or a prophet from the Hebrew Bible.  They are carved into the columns to help show the closeness of the Church and the royalty of France.  Each figure is portrayed as calm and serene and was meticulously carved to show intense detail.

Website acquired from:  https://www.oneonta.edu/faculty/farberas/arth/arth212/royal_portals.html

BAPTISMAL FONT, NOTRE-DAME-AUX-FONTS

Artist: N/A

Location: Liege, France

Aprox. Date: 1107-1118

Medium: Bronze

In this work, each part of the font is very symbolic.  It has been decided that the 12 oxen on the base of the baptismal font are supposed to symbolize the 12 apostles.  On the main part of the font, there are scenes of St. John the Baptist baptizing Christ while preaching, St. John the Evangelist baptizing  Crato, and St. Peter baptizing a Roman soldier.  The figures on the sides are more idealistic, portraying the perfect bodies. 

Website acquired from:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptismal_font_at_St_Bartholomew%27s_Church,_Li%C3%A8ge

DAVID BATTLING GOLIATH

Artist: N/A

Original Location: Constantinople

 Current Location:  The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Aprox. Date: 629-630 CE

Medium: Silver

This silver plate shows the famous story of David and Goliath.  On the top of the plate, the challenge between David and Goliath occurs.  In the middle of the plate, the fight between the two is shown.  Due to its large size in relation to other things on the plate, it is obvious that the scene being shown is important.  At the bottom of the plate, the viewer can see the outcome of the conflict between David and Goliath, David killing Goliath.  

Website acquired from:  http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/17.190.396/

SARCOPHAGUS OF JUNIUS BASSUS

Artist: N/A

Location: Grottoes of St. Peter, Vattican, Rome

Aprox. Date: Second Century CE

Medium: Marble

This sculpture is actually a sarcophagus made for Junius Bassus.  Bassus was a Roman who was baptized before his death.  On the side of the sarcophagus are very intricate carvings of  Christian related scenes.  Many scenes portray Jesus surrounded by followers.  Though the scenes show Jesus as powerful and strong, it also portrays him as humble and kind.

Website acquired from:  https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/early-christian1/v/sarcophagus-of-junius-bassus-marble-359-c-e

PORTRAIT HEAD OF AN ELDER FROM SCOPPITO

Artist: N/A

Location: Museo Nazionale, Chieti

Aprox. Date: First Century BCE

Medium: Marble

Roman sculptures were very different from Greek and Etruscan sculptures.  This is so because Roman sculptures did not focus on ideal beauty but focused more on realism.  Many of their sculptures captured imperfections in the face and body as to show what the person really looked like. That can be seen in this sculpture of an elder, in the wrinkles in his forehead and the sagging of his face.

Website acquired from:  https://www.studyblue.com/#flashcard/view/7995640

CAPITOLINE SHE-WOLF

Artist: N/A

Location: Museo Capitalino, Rome

Aprox. Date: 500 or 800 BCE

Medium: Bronze

The statue shown above is a recreation of the story of how Rome was founded.  The story talks about Romulus and Remus, who were abandoned as babies and raised by a she-wolf.  The two boys later grew up to create the city of Rome.  It is speculated that the two infants were added later and were not a part of the original statue.  

Website acquired from:  https://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/italy/rome/capitolinemuseumone/shewolf.html

BERLIN KORE

Artist:  N/A

Original Location:  Athens

Current Location:  Berlin

Aprox. Date:  570-560 B.C.E.

Medium:  Marble

This is a funerary statue of a woman.  Her body language is stiff, and she is depicted wearing column like robes, thick sandals, and a large crown.  Remnants on the statue suggest that the robes were once painted red, but over time lost their coloring.  In her hand, she holds a pomegranate, similar to the story of Persephone.

Website acquired from:  http://arthistoryresources.net/greek-art-archaeology-2016/kore-berlin.html

MASK OF AGAMEMNON

Artist:  N/A

Original Location:  Mycenae, Greece

Current Location:  National Archives Museum, Athens

Aprox. Date:  1600-1550 B.C.E.

Medium:  Gold

The Mask of Agamemnon was a funerary mask found in a tomb by Heinrich Schliemann.  It was used to cover Agamemnon's face while his deceased body laid in the tomb.  The fact that the mask is gold shows how important the person was who this mask belonged to.

Website acquired from:  http://ancient-greece.org/images/museums/athens-mycenaean/pages/athens-mus-mycenaean001.html

KHAFRE

Artist:  N/A

Location:  Egyptian Museum, Cairo

Aprox. Date:  2520-2494 B.C.E.

Medium:  Diorite-gabbro gneiss

This statue depicts King Khafre sitting upon a throne.  Khafre is famous for his funerary complex, which is one of the best preserved.  He is also famous for the Great Sphinx.  This statue, however, portrays his authority, strength, and power as a king.  

Website acquired from:  http://www.oneonta.edu/faculty/farberas/arth/arth200/Body/egypt_body.htm

GUARDIAN FIGURES AT GATE OF THE CITADEL

Artist:  N/A

Location:  present day Khorsabad, Iraq

Aprox. Date: 721-706 B.C.E.

Medium:  Stone

These were massive figures used to "protect" the gates of the Citadel.  The statues were designed so that no matter what side you were on, it looked like you were looking at the correct side.  Given the head of a man and the body of either a bull or a lion, these lamassus's, as they were called, showed the power and strength of the king. 

Website acquired from:  http://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/story.php?title=art-history-190-midterm

SCULPTURE OF BISON

Artist:  N/A

Location:  Le Tuc d'Audorbert, France

Aprox. Date:  13,000 B.C.E.

Medium:  Unbaked clay

This is a carving of two bisons.  Dating back to about 13,000 B.C.E., this is one of the earliest sculptures in art history.  There are many speculations as to why prehistoric people would carve these bisons.  Some historians say it was to tell others there was bison in the area, others believed it was in hopes to find bison in the area.
Website Acquired From:  https://klimtlover.wordpress.com/art-before-history/paleolithic-art/

For this exhibition, I decided to stray away from paintings and architecture, and focus more on statues.  I did this because I found it easy to find different statues from each time period that helped portray the characteristics of the periods I found them in.  When going to chose the statues I would us in this exhibition, the process was really simple and obvious.  For this exhibition, I selected a statue from each chapter that we are studying throughout the course.  By doing this I am able to portray what we are learning from each chapter and I avoid overloading the reader with information from a couple chapters. 

            From this Virtual Exhibition I am hoping the viewer learns more about art history.  Most often when someone thinks of art history, they think of famous painters, such as Van Gogh, Monet, Seurat, etc.  Through this I can show that art history is more than the Mona Lisa, but that its statues of kings, cave paintings, carvings on buildings, and more.  I also hope that through this exhibition the viewer realizes that art is all around them, not just in museums.  Art is in the vase on a table, the chairs they sit in, their rugs, and in everything else around them.  That art is not something you have to visit a fancy museum to find, but that you just have to look around you.  I hope through this exhibition it is made apparent how important art truly is and how it is not so distant.