Guideline to Writing a Research Paper for Art History Use a single 12 pt. font, double-spaced. The same font should be used for all parts of your paper; top and bottom margins will be set to 1 inch, with left and right margins set to 1.25 inches. Cover Page: Your Name Title of Paper Course Number and Name Professor’s Name Date Illustrations: Each work of art you will be discussing in your paper will have an illustration page attached to the beginning of your paper after the cover page. Each illustration page will have a label accompanying it. Write the word “Illustrations” at the top (centered) of the first page of this section. Body of Your Paper: Introduction: In two to three paragraphs introduce the purpose and the goals of this paper. Body: This paper is a summarization of what you have learned in this particular class. You will apply what you have learned about the history of each time period of art you have studied, the culture you have studied, and the types of artworks you have studied in class as they apply to the objects you selected at the museum and what you learned from the museum’s resources and your own independent reading. Conclusion: Your conclusion will be 2 to 3 paragraphs long that summarize what you have learned through the research of the five works of art you selected at the museum and how it relates to what you experienced in class. * The body of your paper is where you will include footnotes.

Bibliography: This will be the last section. Write the word "Bibliography" at the top (centered) of the first page of this section. Double-space between items and alphabetically order them. The bibliography should only include sources used in the paper. Make sure you follow the style guidelines of The Chicago Manual of Style for citations and the bibliography.

Alex Smith Final Paper

Art 101.01: History of Western Art I: Prehistoric to the 14th Century Prof. Valerie Sioufas-Lalli

May 12, 2016

Sample

Illustrations

Figure 1 Artist Unknown

Two-Sided Pendant with Archangel Michael and Daniel in the Lion’s Den c. 1200 CE (or AD), Byzantine

Serpentine 2 1/4 x 1 5/16 x 9/16 in. (5.7 x 3.4 x 1.4 cm)

1987.442.4

Figure 6 Artist Unknown

Augustus of Primaporta Early 1st Century AD/CE, Roman

Possibly Roman copy of a statue of ca. 20 CE Marble

Height 6’ 8” (2.03 m) Vatican Museum, Rome

The focus of this paper will be on works of art chosen from five different cultures

and stylistic periods centered around the Western world, specifically cultures that occupied

the continent of Europe and the Mediterranean world from the time of the Dynastic

Egyptians to the period of what is often known as the Middle Ages. Presented in this paper

are objects from Egypt, Rome, the Islamic world, Byzantium and Gothic Europe all

depicting the unique characteristics of the culture that created these works and reflecting the

time period in which they were commissioned and presented in final form.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art provided a wealth of material culture from which

to choose from and in this paper the focus will be on a Two-Sided Pendant with

Archange l Michael and Danie l in the Lion’s Den (Figure 1), XXXXXXX (Figure 2),

XXXXXXX (Figure 3), XXXXXXX (Figure 4), and XXXXXXX (Figure 5). These

works represent a variety of art forms, from sculpture to works on parchment, mosaics, and

painting, and thereby illustrate also the specific techniques utilized to shape these objects.

Although a daunting task to summarize the specific qualities of each work of art

presented here, the final result was one that ultimately delineated an evolutionary process

that was surprising and straightforward. Etc…

The Two-Sided Pendant with Archange l Michael and Danie l in the Lion’s Den

(Figure 1) is a Byzantine work dating to about 1200 CE. As such, it demonstrates its

connection to the eastern half of the Roman Empire and specifically to Byzantine civilization

centered in Constantinople, the capital city of Constantine the Great founded in 330 CE and

surviving to 1453 CE.1 “The Early Byzantine period extends from the founding of the new

capital into the 700s. Christianity replaced the gods of antiquity as the official religion of the

1 Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Byzantine Empire", accessed April 25, 2016 2 Sarah Brooks. “Byzantium (ca. 330–1453).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York:

culturally and religiously diverse state in the late 300s. The practice of Christian monasticism

developed in the fourth century, and continued to be an important part of the Byzantine

faith, spreading from Egypt to all parts of the empire.”2 Therefore, as a Byzantine example

of Christian sculpture, Figure 1 aptly depicts religious subject matter in a miniature relief

carving representing, on one side, Archangel Michael, and on the opposite side, the biblical

prophet Daniel. The inscriptions incised into the surface of the serpentine stone pendant (a

dark green mineral sometimes mottled or spotted like a snake’s skin3) have been translated4

and thus further identify the individuals. A pendant, this small object would have served as a

piece of jewelry that would have hung from a chain around a person’s neck.

The side of the pendant depicting Archangel Michael is a low relief carving, the image

being carved from the surface of the soft stone allowing the image to project from its

background. The artist placed the image of the archangel in the center of the pendant and is

represented with wings, a halo behind his head, what seems to be a sword in his raised left

hand held against his chest, and either a spear, sword and/or shield (?) in his right hand that

he seems to be directing to the ground. Many of the facial details and those of Archangel

Michael’s upper torso have been burnished away, perhaps from the passing of time or in this

case perhaps from the action of repetitively rubbing the pendant or being rubbed against the

skin of the wearer. He appears also to be wearing armor, which in this case resembles the

armor worn by the Roman emperor, Octavian, as seen in the sculpture of Augustus o f

Primaporta (Figure 6). Byzantine art then, as seen in the example of Figure 1, symbolizes

2 Sarah Brooks. “Byzantium (ca. 330–1453).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. 3‘Serpentine’, http:// www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/mineral#mineral__24“Two-Sided Pendant with the Archangel Michael and Daniel in the Lion’s Den.” http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/466155

the evolutionary process of borrowing imagery related to the Roman visual past, to give

visual symbolism and power to the now official monotheistic religion of the New Roman

Empire. The iconography (the visual images, symbols, or modes of representation collectively

associated with a person, cult, or movement)5 associated with Michael as Archangel in

Christian art is here clearly distinguishable and applied to further illustrate the idea, the

belief, and the narrative inherent in this personage. Archangel Michael is the greatest of all

the angels and is their leader; he led the Great War in heaven against Satan and his rebellious

angels; he became the patron saint of the Church Militant and was also the lord of the souls

of the dead.6

On the opposite side of the pendant, we again find an inscription identifying the

person depicted in the relief carving as the Prophet Daniel. The inscription is written in

Greek and accompanying the person of Daniel on the bottom left and right corners are what

appear to be feline-type animals. In translating the inscription as the Prophet Daniel and

with the inclusion of animals that appear to look like lionesses, it is thus presumed that the

narrative being presented here is that of Daniel’s punishment. From scripture, in the Book

of Daniel, and the iconography developed to depict this story, we are directed to a specific

episode in the life of the prophet. Disobeying a religious edict given by the Persian king

Darius, Daniel is imprisoned and left in the prison den to be devoured by lions. However,

through the intervention and assistance of Archangel Michael and the prophet Habakkuk,

5 http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/iconography 6 Jane Smith Pearce. From Abacus to Zeus: A Handbook of Art History (New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc., 2004), 158.

Daniel was protected and spared. Seeing this as a sign of the power of the Jewish god, the

king released Daniel.7 Etc…

7 James Hall. Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, Inc., 1979) 90-91.

Bibliography

Brooks, Sarah. “Byzantium (ca. 330–1453).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/byza/hd_byza.htm (originally published October

2001, last revised October 2009)

Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Byzantine Empire", accessed April 25, 2016,

http://www.britannica.com/place/Byzantine-Empire.

Hall, James. Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art. New York: Harper & Row Publishers,

Inc., 1979.

Pearce, Jane Smith. From Abacus to Zeus: A Handbook of Art History. New Jersey: Pearson

Education Inc., 2004.

‘Serpentine’, accessed April 25, 2016, http:// www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/mineral#mineral__2

“Two-Sided Pendant with the Archangel Michael and Daniel in the Lion’s Den”, accessed

April 25, 2016, http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/466155