Art History
Met Paper Art work is known to be both inspiring and thought provoking. Ever since the beginning of time human beings have engaged in art in one form or another. Art work can come in various forms and holds many benefits for both the artist and its audience. One place that encases many of the great art forms from throughout history is the Metropolitan Museum of Art located in New York City. After visiting this site for a class trip I was intrigued by much of what I saw. All the artwork encompassed within the museum is extremely original and intriguing. I am fascinated by how much the artwork varied as I went from different eras in time and different locations throughout the world. Each exhibit held within it a story about the people who designed the art as well as the culture in which they were living.
While all the artwork we saw was spectacular I was most interested in the Roman era, especially the sculptures. Perhaps it was because I have been to the region before and experienced much of the art work first hand. However, I was most moved by the marble statue of the three graces. This particular statue grabbed my attention the moment I laid eyes on it and stirred up feelings of peace and awe. The Three Graces is a statue done in marble during the neoclassical era. Its dimensions are 48 7/16 x 39 3/8in, these proportions make it almost life size and adds to the overall effect and understanding of the piece. I believe because of its near life like size the observer can almost become lost in the sculpture and actually believe they are present with the three women.
The statue depicts two women on the outside facing in one direction while the woman in the middle is facing in the opposite direction. The women each have their hand resting on the others shoulder that depicts a loving embrace thought by some art historians to be sexual in nature. I however did not get the sense that this sculpture had anything to do with sexuality, rather just an innocent portrayal of three young women caring for one another. The women are in a graceful frieze like pose very common to this specific era. The heads of all three women have fallen off from the sculpture and several are even missing arms. However, the torso and legs are in pristine condition and appear to show no damage at all.
The sculpture is made of white marble and is smooth to the touch which suggests an incredible amount of time and effort on the sculptors’ part. Nestled within the marble are lovely pigments of brown that are infused within the white sculpture. Large waist-high water jars covered in drapery help to frame this artwork as it sits atop a large beautiful base.
The sculptor paid immense attention to detail when sculpting this art piece. “The piece itself is carved exactingly from a single slab of white marble. Marble is a “metamorphosed limestone, consisting chiefly of recrystallized calcite or dolomite, capable of taking a high polish, occurring in a wide range of colors and variegations and used in sculpture and architecture” There are many different forms on marble throughout the world but the most commonly used form in sculpture is what is referred to as “white marble” Usually the artists assistants would roughly block out the marble and leave the giant piece for the ar, leaving Canova to finish the final carving and shape the stone to highlight the Graces’ soft flesh.” The sculptor did a beautiful job of presenting the women with a life like skin complexion that looks soft to the touch and almost life like.
In fact, this was a particular trademark in Canovas work that was often mimicked by other great sculptors during his time.
The Three Graces is a Roman copy of a Greek work from the seccond century B.C. The sculptor depicts three nude young women