Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Aegean Art of the Cyclades

“From about 6,000 BCE, Cycladic artists used poor-quality local clay to make a variety of ceramic objects, including engaging ceramic figurines of humans and animals, as well as domestic and ceremonial wares. It was only after 3,000 years that they had begun to produce marble sculptures.” (Stockstad, 82)

The Cyclades had many supplies of fine and durable marble. Their sculptors used this stone to create figurines of humans, ranging from a couple of inches to 5 feet in height. It is assumed that these figurines were mainly made by female artists because most of the sculptures were female bodies.  An example of one of these figurines is a figure of a woman that is presented in a pose of strict symmetry. Her arms are folded just below her slightly protruding breasts, as if she is clutching her abdomen. Her neck is very long and the head is slightly tilted back with no facial features visible, except an elongated protruding nose. The body parts on this figurine are pared down to essentials, and some joints and junctures are indicated with incised lines. 

The sculptor of this artwork had carefully designed it by laying out the figurine with a compass and drawing three equally sized circles that are evenly spaced out. The first circle started at the top of the head and went down to the waist. The second circle was from the bottom of the neck and down to the knees. The third circle started at the waist and went all the way down towards the bottom of the feet. This made the figurine equally proportional when divided into three parts.

The sculpture of this Cycladic woman is one that might seem somewhat similar, but is in fact very different from the Woman from Willendorf figurine of the Upper Paleolithic period. The Willendorf figurine dates back from 24,000 BCE. Although it is believed to have been made by a female sculptor, like that of the Cycladic figurine, the Woman of Willendorf is much fatter and is more round that the skinny Cycladic figurine.
First of all, the Woman of Willendorf is carved from limestone. Its sculptor had exaggerated the figures female attributes by giving it enormous breasts, a big abdomen with a deep navel, wide hips and rounded buttocks and knees with solid thighs. The sculptor might have been trying to express the health and fertility of this woman figurine by emphasizing on those well-nourished body attributes.

Secondly, the folded arms on the Cycladic figurine abdomen seem to make her look shy and modest. On the contrary, the Woman of Willendorf’s arms are on top of her breasts, right below the neck, therefore exposing her large breasts and other female body parts, making her look very comfortable and unashamed of her body. The Willendorf figurine also looks a little provoking as if she is selling her body.

These few physical differences of the two figurines also indicate the difference of the two eras that they are from. During the Upper Peliothilic Period, a round woman was considered healthy and very attractive. The figurines of that time were emphasized in their roundness and sexuality, also showing that they are a symbol of fertility, like the Woman of Willendorf figurine. However, the sculptures of the Bronze Age women have been found almost exclusively in graves, like the Cycladic Woman figurine, making it seem as if they are mainly associated with death and burial of their owners.



2 comments:

  1. The figurine of the Cycladic woman is interesting, right? I like how abstractive and sleek she looks, it's appealing. But I like both this and the figurine of the Willendorf woman; they both show an ideal beauty and are interesting to look at.

    I can see how you linked and sensed possible emotions by looking at body language. I agree that the Cycladic figure looks shy and Willendorf's figure looks comfortable by the placement of their thin arms and body language. Looking at how the Cycladic figure is clenching/wrapping her arms around her slightly, protruding belly and the Willendorf's arms resting on top of her large breasts, plus emphasis on her abdomen and womanly parts as well, I think about fertility.Though, it's interesting thinking of the Cycladic woman figurine being associated with death and burial. Nice post!

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  2. From the argument you are making I have the feeling that each group of women making these figurines is speaking about the life of women. Both in the purpose discussing different aspects of women's lives. The concept that they could be representations of fertility goddess while still representing the woman herself in everyday situations is an interesting sets of points of view.
    The first speaks to the thought that women are harbingers of creation holding within themselves a womb which produces life. The fact that they also were capable of changing the form of material in creation of figurines speaks to this argument as well.
    The second idea that is these figures were buried along with other women and their creators. This makes me this that like their creator these figurines are destined to die and be buried. We live, we work, we create, we die such is the fate of women.

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