Sophie Guarino- Virgin and Child

The Virgin and Child was made in Italy (Lombardy or Emilia-Romagna). It was made with about 1125-50 limestone, with polychrome. This image is an early example in Italian sculpture of a new devotional emphasis on the humanity of the Christ. It stresses the warm intimacy between mother and son as they draw their heads together and look into each other’s eyes, with the child reaching his arms around Mary’s neck. The stone sculpture would have been placed upon an altar, inspiring prayer and meditation. I choose this sculpture because it doesn’t actually look like jesus in a ladys arms. To me Christ looks more like a small man than a baby. That purpose was to recall the Old Testament Song of Songs, in which the bride and groom came to be seen as references to Mary and Christ.  

Sophie Guarino- King Menkaura and queen

This Egyptian sculpture was of King Menkaura (mycerinus) and queen. This sculpture is one of the finest pieces of Egyptian sculptures known. This pair statue came to light in a trench in the king’s Valley Temple. Many sculptures were ritually buried in the temple area after they were no longer used. These two images are representative of the idealized concept of the monarchy in Egypt’s classical, or pyramid age. The superlative craftsmanship is evident in both faces and the rendering of the knee and leg musculature. The queen’s knees are softly portrayed through her full length garment. Even though this statue was set up in the temple, the statue was never completely  finished as can be seen by the roughness of the base and the back. The details of the costume were finished in paint, faint traces of which still remain.  I picked this sculpture because the texture and the details of the faces looked very interesting. The Egyptians used the color black because they thought the afterlife was very cool.

Parker casey- lumieres (blue square)

this was made by christian boltanski. he is french born in 1944 and lives in paris. what you see here is a blue square called lumieres. now boltanski builds altars to memory loss. now the naked bulb show a ghostly blue glow photos that he find at flea markets. boltanski was affected by his jewish father telling him stories about hiding during world war 2. now this blue square is called sylvie. we don't know if it is a hidden person or if it was jewish boltanski transformed her into a icon of humanity. i picked this piece of art because it caught my eye when i saw light all in one big square on the wall and right then i really wanted to know what was so special about this and what is its meaning.If you look very closely at the black square in the middle it looks like a young boy of some sort. Now me i don't really know what that represents but i can guess maybe its boltanski when he was younger or his jewish father hiding during world war 2. this figure just looked so interesting to me when i walked into the room of modern art and it just clicked to me i really liked this and want do this

Slave ship-Madeline Aldrich

Slave Ship 

Madeline Aldrich

This painting, slave ship- was a picture of what looked to be a ship in a storm. When you look closer you could see a human leg with a group of small fish feasting on it. If you looked even closer you could see limbs and shackles that belonged on the slaves legs, with dark colored skin floating in the water. My tour guide explained to my group that the slaves had various outbreaks of a deathly viruses and the slave owner hired someone to sink the ship and get ride of the slaves to collect insurance money. The insurance money was only collectible for the slaves lost at sea, or what they thought. I liked the paint colors he used and the texture on the canvas made it seem more historical and rustic. The painting was very interesting to me because oft he background story. You would not have even known about the slave story if you didn't research it. Painting really are interesting!  It shows that every picture has a meaning behind it even though it doesn't directly tell you it could literally mean a million words by just looking at the painting. 

Parker casey- elephant goat

this is an elephant goad. In india elephants are symbols of royal splendor. now if you look really close you can see mystical creatures, earth animals and gods. this tool was used for steering elephants in the right direction. I picked this weapon because i love weapons. I thought it was cool that this little weapon can practically steer a huge elephant in the right  direction.Its cool if you look at it on the top it has a spike or almost a knife so if the elephant does not pay attention or listen to them they could either kill it or injure it. Now on the right side of it you can see a hook that is used for the same exact thing as the knife but it won't go into their skin. they put it around the elephant's leg and pulls it so the elephant falls. Also the knife top can be used for if another animal attacks they can jab them. Now this item looked amazing to me because i'm not really a hunter but i like guns and knives and other sorts of weapon. This item just caught my eye walking past a hallway and bam!  i knew i wanted to write about this awesome weapon and artifact used for a huge animal

Sophie Guarino - Slave Ship

Sophie Guarino

The first picture that I choose is Slave Ship by Joseph Mallord William Turner. It is a striking example of the artist’s fascination with violence, both human and elemental. It was painted between 1775-1851. This painting was done on  canvas with oil.It is one of Turner’s most celebrated works. The painting was based on a poem that described a slave ship caught in a typhoon. The real story is that the slave ship captain, Zong, in 1781 had thrown overboard sick and dying slaves so that he could collect insurance money available only for slaves “lost at sea.” In this painting Tuner captures the horror of the event and terrifying view of nature through a variety of colors that merge the sea and sky together. I picked this painting because when I first saw it I had no  clue what it was. As I looked closely at the painting I realized that there was a ship sinking in the background and a plethora of fishes eating human bodies. The artist that painted this picture used a technique called churning, and he merged the sky and sea together which gives it a very different look and texture.

Parker casey- bodhisattya maitreya

this figure is Bodhisattva Maitreya from pakistan,kushan period, late 3rd century AD. this was made because buddhas were supposed to help people guide them down their spiritual path on earth. also in the future the believed that it would become a preacher to help people become more happy and delighted in life. i picked this piece because when i was 4 years old i started kung fu i really liked it a lot. i did it all the way until i was 13 years old. now if you know buddhas came from asia were kung fu is mostly based out of and buddhas to me are a sign of peace and relief from the world and let you get away from everyone almost like inner peace. i thought this piece was a really cool figure in the museum and buddhas are almost like a big fat fluffy friend that almost like relaxes and just is chill with what he does. They say that he was going to come back to teach others in the future the way of the buddha's life and what it does. When i laid my eyes on this piece i knew right away this was something in my heart i could right about it.