Assignment代写：Aphrodite

下面为大家整理一篇优秀的assignment代写范文- Aphrodite，供大家参考学习，这篇论文讨论了阿弗洛狄忒的雕像。阿弗洛狄忒的雕像中几乎完美展现了希腊女神的形象，女神靠在她旁边的大理石圆柱上，她的体重大多落在左脚上，臀部略微向左倾斜，与她挺直的上身形成对比，突出了她上半身的秀美。虽然她的双臂残断，但雕像仍然显得栩栩如生。

The marble statute of Aphrodite at the Lowe Art Museum (University of Miami) was created by an unknown artist in Syria in ca. 2nd to 3rd century according to the art history. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. She is equivalent with the Roman goddess Venus. The Aphrodite statues were very popular in Greek during the Hellenistic period for artists to show their worship of the goddess.

This marble statute of Aphrodite shows the Greek goddess in the nude. The marble statute is not life-sized as some other similar marble statutes of Aphrodite. It is about 27 1/4 inches in height. Its overall dimensions is 27 1/4 × 9 3/8 × 6 inches. The goddess is leaning on her left foot by the marble cylinder next to her. Her body weight mostly falls on her left foot. Her hips slants a little towards left, contrasting her upright upper body, especially her shoulders. Below the goddess and the cylinder is a cuboid.

We do not know for sure whether it is a piece of cloth on the cylinder next to her because of the damages. It was probably a piece of drapery considering the repeated use of drapery among other similar sculptures. What we can see is that the "cloth" is skillfully carved in details with complex patterns. The nudeness suggests maybe she just got out of shower or was preparing to have a shower, an erotic scene anyway. The goddess looks relaxing and pleasantly elegant with her legs slightly apart and upright stance. Her gesture suggests she is natural and calm, confidently displaying the feminine beauty.

The sculpture is modeled smoothly and vigorously. The texture of the smooth, soft and white skin is reflected by the use of marble. Her right foot is slightly rested, as if she is preparing for the next motion. This pose falling between still and motion presents its audiences a more live figure.

This well shape of the body fits a young woman. She is fit and not plump at all. We see that her body proportion is natural and ideal with regard to the leg-to-body ratio even in modern standards. According to art historians, ancient Greek artists had already studied human leg-to-body ratio and took body proportion into consideration while they were carving art pieces. Leonardo da Vinci believed the best human body proportion should be governed by universe.

Many major parts of the marble statute are missing, including the head and both arms. Whether a certain part of the marble cylinder is missing cannot be judged visually. Some details on the marble goddess statute, like the breasts and the cylinder were also damaged. We cannot see how her hands reached and her facial expression. These lost parts and details were now unavailable for exploration. But still, some more well-reserved similar marble Aphrodite statutes may be used for references.

This depiction of Aphrodite was believed to be initiated by the ancient Greek sculptor Praxiteles from Athens. Then many of his contemporaries created similar art pieces under Praxiteles' influence. The marble Aphrodite of Knidos was the most famous in spite of all copies. The statue of Aphrodite of Knidos is life-sized. Her wavy hair elegantly goes back of her head to a tie. The lips are parted by a slight smile. The Goddess Aphrodite was ready for the ritual bath that restored her purity. Her hand covers her lower body and draws attention to her nudity. The drapery is in her another hand.

This nude sculpture of Praxiteles' came out as a shock for all as it was commissioned for ritual purpose in the first place. It is said Praxiteles was asked to create the statute of the goddess Aphrodite. He then created two copies, one in completely nudity, the other fully draped. The nude was rejected by citizens. The draped one was accepted firstly. The other piece was bought by some citizens for display in the outdoor area of a temple. Later the nude statute became famous for the boldness of depiction. What happened later on was unexpected, the draped statute remains unknown, but the nude one is well reserved. Some suspected the draped statute had not been given enough attention at last.

Praxiteles' sculpture gives us a reference for what the Aphrodite statute we face might be like. Did she have curly hair too? Probably yes, because almost all copies of Aphrodite statutes have curly hair, which is impressionistic treatment. How was her facial expression like? We can only imagine a noble and calm image. Which way did she turn her head? What kind of beauty did we miss from the unknown artist? The artist could be a Greek sculptor or a non-Greek sculptor who was deeply influenced by Greek art.

Besides the pose of the goddess, her skin and composition of the whole body parts are very real and ideal, showing the unknown sculptor who created this piece was a great artist. Though we could not see the head and hands where more details were supposedly focused.

It is interesting, however, the absence of the head, hands and damages of the cylinder make it so that all the attention is drawn on the upright stance and the natural body composition. Her missing arms invoke the imagination that she was originally so brave that covering was not the intention at all.

We cannot avoid talking about the material of a sculpture. Marble, widely used by Greek sculptors, is an ideal material for depiction of human skin, muscle and gesture. Marble is the only material that has a certain translucency similar with human skin among a variety of others. This translucency creates a visual depth that evokes the realism of certain sculptures. Marble is solid, often resulting in a special pale and waxy look which gives "life" to marble sculptures to a large extent. Besides, it is weather-resistant, durable and relatively soft and easy to carve and polish for sculptors. The artistic image of a sculpture complements with the marble itself, remaining "immortal" as the sculptor wishes. "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free", said Michelangelo, a master-level sculptor himself. These features of marble were the reasons why it could not have been replaced by others.

Every coin has two side, even the magical marble. In spite of its numerous advantages, it has shortcomings. Marble does not bear handling well and absorbs skin oil upon human touch. When a marble statute is place outdoor, its perform poorly when exposed to acid rain. Compared to bronze, marble also lacks of ductility and strength, thus requiring special structural treatment for challenged poses. These weaknesses may explain the missing parts and damages of the marble statute of Aphrodite at the Lowe Art Museum.

There is not much information of this statute of Aphrodite at the Lowe Art Museum from art historians. Again, we may study its artistic influence and how the audiences perceive it through reference of Praxiteles' Aphrodite of Knidos.

Since the rise of Early Classical Greek sculpture, female nude existed in reliefs and figurines occasionally, but it was not accepted as full-size statues. Praxiteles' Aphrodite of Knidos was believed to be the first and most famous full-size nude which was accepted as cult image. In the variations of Praxiteles' Aphrodite of Knidos, drapery is used creatively and variously for the purpose of covering.

According to art history, besides free standing sculptural works, classical sculptures include reliefs as well. Sculptural works emphasize the free standing human forms, while reliefs were more used to create scenes. People think the sculptures were all white marbles. The facts suggest some sculptors painted colors on marbles too. But those colors could not last till today.

Various copies of marble statute of Aphrodite were created by artists at that time. Partly it was because Praxiteles initiated the first nude female statute as an accepted image. This progress released sculptors' desire or inspired artists to release their creativity. Another reason was that Praxiteles' contemporaries were all fascinated about Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. Worshiping Aphrodite had been religious practices in Greek. Praxiteles' Aphrodite of Knidos creates an instant sensation. Talking about the great influence of Aphrodite of Knidos, Plato said: When Cypris saw Cypris at Cnidus, "Alas!" said she; "where did Praxiteles see me naked?" This is indeed humorous compliment for his contribution to the revolution of art.

Overall, the marble statute of Aphrodite at the Lowe Art Museum is a stunning work of art. Whether a faithful copy of Praxiteles' Aphrodite of Knidos or not, its depiction shows great texture, bodily form, motion and still, natural and elegant pose. Though part of the beauty is lost, we still see the boldness and courage with which the artist was trying to present Aphrodite to this world.

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