Rulers and WarChapter 10

Power, Politics and Glory

The Glory of the Ruler

• Idealized Image– without flaw– Youthful– wise or dignified

• Symbols: authority, divine, power

• Compositional devices: center, focal point

Royal Portraits

• Menkaure and His Wife, Queen Khamerernebty, Gizeh, Egypt, 4th Dynasty, c. 2600 BCEslate, height 4 feet 6inches

• Egyptian ideal of beauty and maturity

The Power of the State

• Places and Spaces of Power:– Grand size– Lavish ornamentation– Height– Symbolic art featured

Hall of Supreme Harmony, Forbidden City, Beijing, China.

Signs of power…

Warriors, Weapons & Fortifications

• Fierceness shown in emphasis of armor, weapons, or regalia of power

Plaque: Warrior and Attendants, 16th–17th centuryNigeria; Edo peoples, Court of BeninBrass H. 18 3/4 in. (47.6 cm)

WAR SCENES

• Memorable, glorious, action-filled event

• Document battles from different points of view

Detail of Mural by Diego Rivera.

Scenes of war between the native peoples of the

area of what is now Mexico and the Spanish

conquistadors.

Guernica, Pablo Picasso

Contemporary Artists on WarGerda Meyer BernsteinExercise in Futility, 2008

walk-in installation, mixed media

Glorious vs. Realistic Images of War

Napoleon Crossing the Alps, Jacques-Louis David, 1800, France.

And they are like wild beasts, Disasters of War Series, Francisco Goya.

Conclusion

• In what ways can art be used in the service of the state and rulers?

• How do politics influence art? • How has art documented war?