ART 101.01| History of Western Art I: Prehistoric to the 14th Century NCC Department of Art, Architecture, and Design

Assignment 3 · Comparative Analysis of the Art of Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt Due: Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Review chapters 2 and 3 in Janson’s Basic History of Western Art, pp. 32-63. Compare and contrast these two works below, Figure 1 and Figure 2. Define what makes them the same or different to one another.

List a total of six (6) similarities and/or differences between these two works, the Stele of Naram-Sin and the Palette of King Narmer, Side A. For extra credit, you may include more comparisons. Each comparison will earn a grade of 1 to 3 points depending on the detail and clarity of your comparison. This is an exercise meant to expand your observational skills.

Some research will be required–use your textbook and the museum websites associated with these works for more details. Don’t forget your footnotes. You may structure your comparison as a bulleted list or in essay format, double-spaced.

Your assignment must be introduced with these two images and the corresponding labels as given here. Consider the following for your comparison–

• What subject is depicted in each work? Mythology, religion, political events, etc…? Be thorough in your description of who and/or what is being represented in these works.

• What medium and technique is used for each work?

• What size is each work? Are they monumental, life-size, moderate, or small and intimate? Look at the dimensions.

• Who were the patrons of each work?

• What compositional design principles can you compare between the two works?

• Where were these artworks created?

• What purpose does each work serve? What were these objects meant to accomplish? Is it the same or different from each other?

• Discuss the use of any conventions or specific styles of representation seen in either.

• Compare the iconographical elements. What signs and symbols are included in each and how do they compare to each other? For example, are gods indicated in either or both of these works? Who, where, why?

• Compare any other information you find relevant.

Figure 1 Stele of Naram-Sin

Ancient Near East,Akkadian Period ca. 2,270 BCE Pink Limestone

Height, 6’6” Musée Du Louvre, Paris

Figure 2 Side A of the Palette of King Narmer Egyptian, Pre/Early Dynastic Period

ca. 3,000 BCE Slate

Height 25” Egyptian Museum, Cairo

Examples of a student comparison–

SIMILARITIES:

1 · “Both artworks depict dead enemy combatants. In the Royal Standard of Ur, the enemies of the Sumerians from the

city of Ur are killed and run over by soldiers controlling chariots led by onagers. In the Stele of Naram-Sin, the enemies of

the Akkadian empire are killed and found dead and are trampled over by Akkadian soldiers.”

2 · “The use of hierarchic [scale] is incorporated in both figures. Figure 1 depicting Naram-Sin is the most important figure

in the piece as shown by the center placement, large scale and size. In Figure 2, the more prominent figure is placed in a

central position close to the top, showing their significance. Both are focal points of the image.”

DIFFERENCES:

1 · “While both express rhythm, Fig. 1 utilizes registers to tell the story while guiding the “reader” along a clear pathway,

whereas Fig. 2 narrates by drawing the eye haphazardly in an organic, upwardly diagonal stream of motion.”

2· “The Royal Standard of Ur contains a wide variety of colors; these are red, blue, yellow, and the composite brown. The

Stele of Naram-Sin does not have a wide variety of colors like the Standard of Ur. The Stele of Naram-Sin is only the color

pink because the artwork was created on pink limestone.”