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Essay about Formal Analysis of "Relief of a Winged Genius"

Decent Essays

Formal Analysis of

"Relief of a Winged Genius"

Yahaira Guzman

Art History

09/29/10

Relief of a winged genius is a two-dimensional stone relief sculpture currently located on the first floor of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, in the Ancient Near East
Gallery (Accession number: 81.56). It is an Assyrian artifact excavated from the palace walls of the capital of ancient Nimrud, dating between 883-859 B.C. The unknown artist's deliberate use of size, material, scale, style and content, together with the sculpture's original setting, reflects the politically driven agenda during the reign of
Ashurnasirpal II.

Upon first viewing Relief of a winged genius, one cannot help but notice the enormity of the stone …show more content…

After one takes in the armed and protective aura of the Winged Being, the eyes are struck by the the very detailed workings of his hair and beard. His thick, curly and luxuriant hair suggests the kind of hair that only the most virile of men posess. This human aspect of the winged being serves as way to reflect the kings own power and virility. In terms of the object's anatomy, one notices the markings that are inscribed over the area that encompasses the space directly above his left knee and below the top of the sword in his right hand, spanning the full width of the sculpture. These markings are actually text and is a form of writing technique called Cuneiform. The same text that is on Relief of A Winged Genius also appears on other reliefs within the palace walls. The inscription tells of the story of the kings lineage, his military victories, how he founded
Kalhu (present-day Nimrud, Iraq) and built his palace. These inscriptions are a perfect example of political propaganda which purposely highlight the kings skill and accomplishments. Considering the artist's choice of medium, form, and content, it's clear that he or she chose their elements very carefully to convey a message of power, strength, and permanence to the intended viewer at the time. It's clear that this artist was comissioned by Ashurnasirpal II

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