Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer)
Polykleitos in the Doryphoros, which is translated to Spear-Bearer, sought to create a work of art that would attempt to describe the luxurious nature of Athenian art that would move beyond the early Athenian Classical Riace Warriors (Stewart, 2008). Riace Warriors, which are two full-size bronze warriors, had been created between 460–450 BC and were seen as a reflection of ancient Greek art. For a long time, the two full-size Riace Warriors sculptures were viewed as being a symbolic part of Athenian art, as they reflected on the majestic nature of the artistry involved in trying to create structures that would be representative of this society. Polykleitos created the Doryphoros, through abstraction, with the sole intention being towards ensuring that it would lead to a manifestation of the High Athenian Classical of ancient Greek philosophies.
The first philosophy that the Doryphoros represented was idealism, as it reflects on an inferior physical object aimed at creating a conceptual model of man in a manner that is reflective of Plato’s ideology. An analysis of the sculpture indicates that it seeks to build on a theoretical model of man in a way that would help in promoting a sense of idealism among its audience. Polykleitos sought to establish a clear front through which the audience would get an idealistic understanding of how a man looks like from an abstraction point of view (Stewart, 2008). The other philosophy that can be seen from the Doryphoros is rationalism, as it reflects on ideal mathematical systems that can be attributed to the size of the sculpture. In itself, the statue is considered as being life-life taking into account that Polykleitos focused on creating a work of art that would be reflective of the exact size of a man (Brilliant, 1973).
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The use of functional mathematical systems can be seen from the fact that the sculpture seeks to introduce a wide array of metrics that would help in creating a work of art that represents a life-like mechanical system. Basically, this means that Polykleitos adopted the use of mathematics in trying to engage in an intricate design approach to help connect with his audience. Lastly, the Doryphoros introduces the philosophy of humanism, which is reflected from a nude human body (Brilliant, 1973). Looking at the Doryphoros, one of the things that one can note is that the portrayal of the man is reflective of his nude nature. In other words, the sculpture seeks to portray nudity towards its audience. It is from this perspective that it can be argued that indeed, Polykleitos focused much of his attention towards building on the philosophy of humanism in a bid to seeking a connection with the audience.
Marble Sphinx on a Cavetto Capital
From our Met trip, I chose the work Marble Sphinx on a Cavetto Capital . An analytical review of the sculpture indicates that it introduces its audience to the philosophy of idealism, as it seeks to encourage imagination and a mental concept of beauty. The image presented by the sculpture is that of a masculine animal that has wings, which builds on the philosophy of idealism, as it reflects on the beauty from an imaginative point of view. Stylistically, the sphinx reflects on the concept of masculinity, as it seeks to highlight an element of strength in its representation as a work of art. That means that it reflects on idealism by trying to establish a front through which to encourage imagination among its audiences.
On the other hand, the sculpture also reflects on the philosophy of realism, as it reflects on a four-sided structure that is placed on a large flat and stylized surface. The statue is a reflection of the early Archaic period taking into account that it seeks to maximize the general knowledge that the Greek artists had acquired from their Egyptian counterparts. The molds on the sculpture as a representation of realism, as they do not introduce any form of artistic or supernatural exaggeration without having to consider the wings on the animal. The sculpture represents a sense of strength attributed to its life-like mechanical features, including its legs and head, among others. Consequently, this means that the audience is much more likely to connect with the work of art from the perspective that it seeks to represent a realistic approach to understanding art.
Mondrian’s Manifest
Mondrian made manifest a radically autonomous abstraction by seeking to project the universe as an illusion and everything in a manner that is spirit-like (Fingesten, 1961). That means that Mondrian found it much more comfortable in trying to reflect on the cosmic void that he believed would serve as a representation of his idealistic understanding of illusion. Throughout his early Notebooks, Mondrian describes nature from the perspective of an eternal principle that he sought to consider as being a spirit. That meant that Mondrian would find to not only project his illusion as a rejection of nature in his bid towards trying to highlight the positive and negative break up oneness, which is all likely to result in unhappiness. What is clear from Mondrian’s position is that it all reflected on a theoretical background that is considered as being connected to Theosophy (Fingesten, 1961).
References
Brilliant, R. (1973). Arts of Ancient Greeks . New York, NY: McGraw Hill, Inc.
Fingesten, P. (1961). Spirituality, mysticism and non-objective art. Art Journal , 21 (1), 2-6.
Stewart, A. (2008). Classical Greece and the Birth of Western Art . New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
