Art Appreciation: Caryatid Carrying Her Stone

Artist:Auguste Rodin (French, Paris 18401917 Meudon) Founder:Coubertin Foundry Date:modeled 1881, cast 1981

Culture:French

Medium:Bronze

Dimensions:Overall (wt. on pallet, confirmed): 51 1/8 37 1/2 37 1/2 in., 613 lb. (129.9 95.3 95.3 cm, 278.1 kg)

Classification:Sculpture-Bronze

Credit Line:Gift of Iris and B. Gerald Cantor, 1985

Accession Number:1985.56.2

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 800.

Dish with Two Interwined Dragons

Object Name:Dish

Date: ca. 1640

Geography:Attributed to Iran, Kirman

Medium:Stonepaste; painted in blue under transparent glaze

Dimensions:H. 2 3/4in. (7cm) Diam. 17 1/4in. (43.8cm)

Classification:Ceramics

Credit Line:Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1965

Accession Number:65.109.2

This artwork is currently on display in gallery 462.

Introduction.

The Fallen Caryatid Carrying her Stone is a black sculpture whose making was in the celebration of The gates of Hell near the monumental doors at Musee des arts decoratifs in Paris. The sculptor was August Rodin and he did this work in the year 1881. It appears at the top of the monument and appears and the left angle. The first-ever exhibition of this work was in the year 1886 at the Exposition Internationale de Peinture at the Galerie Georges Petit, Paris. It stands less than eighteen inches high with an overall dimension of 42.5 x 28 x 33 cm. since its creation, many other artists have been making other copies of it using different media like bronze and marble. In other regions, this sculpture is known as Destiny or One of the Damned. Two Intertwined Dragons on the other hand is an Iranian mockery of the Chinese culture done in the twentieth century by the Safavid potters. This is a beautiful dish made of ceramics with decoration in the middle of it in the form of two dragons coiling on each other as though in a serious battle. The dragons form a discernible pattern of the six-pointed star against a concentric wave pattern. According to the Chinese culture from which the idea was generated, a dragon is a sign of good omen. However, in Iran where this dish originates, a dragon is a dangerous creature known to be poison- breathing in character. The medium for this art is a stonepaste; painted in blue below a clear glaze.

VISUAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TWO ARTS.

The Fallen Caryatid Carrying her Stone' appears at the left angle in the gallery space. Made of bronze and painted smooth black, the sculpture has the dimension of 42.5 by 28 by 33 cm. It portrays the image of a girl who is carrying a stone on her left shoulder. From a glance, it is easy to tell that the weight of the stone is overcoming the girl as she squats on the ground as she bears the stone. Moreover, the sculpture is smooth and shiny as reflects some amount of light. The girl is hiding her face while her right hand supports the weighty stone on the shoulder.

In the Dish with Two Intertwined Dragons," the most conspicuous figures are the two dragons intertwined on each other to form the six-point star in the middle of the dish. The dish is made of ceramic; painted white, while the dragon decorations are made of blue. The plate has a diameter of 171/4 inches (around 7 cm in diameter). From the inner core of the plate are several concentric circles with the floral mosaic that complete the beauty aspect of the plate. The circumference is a perfect circle that is painted grey. Due to the floral mosaic, the two dragons also coil in such a way that they appear like the tendrils of climbing flowers drawn on the surface of the plate. This makes the dragons more beautiful than dreading as is always the case in Iran.

Formal analysis.

Composition. In the sculpture The Fallen Caryatid Carrying her Stone,' the most prominent figures are the stone and the enormous arms of the girl bearing the stone. The sculpture did this deliberately to show the main idea that the stone is heavy enough for the girl to bring her down. Much emphasis is on the massive arms and the subjugated face of the tired girl sitting on her laurels due to the weight of the heavy stone. However, in the alternative art of Dish with Two Intertwined Dragons,' the emphasis is on the blue color and the floral patterns of both the dragon and the flowers. This simply means that the latter art is more concerned about beauty than any other theme.

Light, color, and shape. Both the images are well lit so that each detail is readily visible to the viewer. In as much as the girl with the stone is dark in color, the sculptor lit the whole of it in uniform. This is the same as the case of the bright dish with coiling dragons. The dominant color in the dish is blue and white while the color in the sculpture is black. The blue and white colors purely enhance beauty while the black color of the sculpture is to indicate the hard life of the girl. The Chinese culture values the drawing of dragons for beauty and this dish traces its origin from the arts of the Chinese society. In terms of shape, the sculpture, being a representation of a living being mimics an irregular shape. It is difficult to tell the exact shape of the girl carrying the stone. This is different from the shape of the dish which is a perfect circle. The dish is regular and with other concentric circles around the two dragons.