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Full-Text Articles in Art and Design
Portrait Of Agrippina The Younger, Risd Museum, Natalie Kampen, Lisa Anderson
Portrait Of Agrippina The Younger, Risd Museum, Natalie Kampen, Lisa Anderson
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Agrippina (15–59 CE), the subject of this portrait, was related to four different Roman emperors: she was granddaughter to Augustus, sister to Caligula, mother to Nero, and niece and later wife to Claudius. It is therefore not surprising that many portraits of her survive. They invariably depict her with a broad forehead, a square jaw, large eyes, thin lips, and a sharp chin, all features shared by many members of the imperial family. Ancient pieces were sometimes combined with other sculptural elements to create “new” composite sculptures. This ancient portrait head was inserted into a bust composed of different-colored marble …
Model Of A Funerary Boat, Risd Museum, Peter Dean, Peter Johnson
Model Of A Funerary Boat, Risd Museum, Peter Dean, Peter Johnson
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During the funeral, the deceased took a last earthly journey, traveling by boat to the cemetaries on the west bank of the Nile. The next voyage then began: a spiritual pilgrimmage to Abydos, the religious center and burial place of the god Osiris. For this reason, wooden model boats were often placed within tombs as substitutes for large-scale vessels in the afterlife. This model boat mimicked papyrus funerary barks. The wedjat-eyes painted on the hull were meant to guide the vessel safely through the perilous journey to the afterlife. 2100-1900 BCE
Grand Arabesque, Second Time, Risd Museum, Julie Strandberg, Jeff Hesser
Grand Arabesque, Second Time, Risd Museum, Julie Strandberg, Jeff Hesser
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Transitional poses such as this one were constant themes of Edgar Degas’s numerous sculptural studies made in wax, wire, and plastilene. Collected from his studio following his death, these models became the sources of small editions cast in bronze, including this one of a dancer posed in a grand arabesque. In the classic ballet position, the dancer bends forward while standing on one straight leg, with the opposite arm extended forward and the other arm and leg extended backward. In the 1890s the British artist Walter Sickert visited Degas in his studio and was shown the wax model for this …