CYLINDRICAL VESSEL WITH SACRIFICIAL SCENE
BY
MICHELLE TAYLOR
Introduction
I attended the Dallas Museum of Art on December 2, 2008 and the work of art I choose to discuss for my visual/formal analysis is the Cylindrical vessel with sacrificial scene. The vessel is from Guatemala or Mexico, in the Maya Late Classic period in c. A.D. 600-850. This vessel portrays a human sacrifice in detail. In this paper I will focus on the art elements and art principles.
Line
This particular art piece, I definitely see outlines, which show objects, shapes and forms. The lines that outline the subjects are dark black and very bold and thick. The victim’s lines are showed vertically on the vessel and he is frontally facing the viewer. The men around the victim all show lines of being horizontal with some motion noted by the dancing.
Shape
There are many shapes used in this artwork. The artwork itself is a regular shape, cylinder, which is three-dimensional. The painting on the vessel is in a multi-point perspective where it employs multiple depths to the image creating the true three-dimensional scene. The vessel has a large opening on the top and hollow in the inside so the mass is slightly less than the volume. In addition, many different shapes are used to create the animals and humans painted on the vessel. The victim of coarse is showed as a weak figure and somewhat grotesque with blood. The men around the victim are seen a proud and strong figures. The animals, the macaw and jaguar, also seem to represent themselves as strong figures because the men are holding them. All the humans are proportional in size to one another. The animals seem to be slightly smaller than the humans. I believe the figures are located in the foreground of the vessel. It is in my opinion that the artist placed the figures in front because this is an important ritual in which tells a story without words.
Space
The vessel is 8 ¼ inches in height and cylinder in shape. The size of the vessel does dwarf compare to us. The painting around the cylinder appears to be flat. The vanishing point in the scene is the victim lying on the altar, which show one-point perspective.
Light
In the ritual scene there is slight shading and changes in color, which imply light. Because the background of this scene is completely black the colors from the animals, men and clothing bring out the light in the painting. The value creates the illusion of depth and illusion in this scene.
Color
When I first glance at this vessel I see the red and black colors. But
the more I look at it the more I see orange, brown, white, gray and browns. I believe that hue of the vessel is the color red. I think the color red shows defeat and makes the viewer somewhat scared or frighten. I do not see any complimentary colors used in the artwork but I do see some analogous colors used. I see high the intensity colors of red and orange and the main value color as black. The entire background of the vessel is black and seems to be very dark. Some of the ritual scene such as the dancing seems to have brighter and warmer colors. For myself, it is difficult to understand if this ritual is suppose to represent a gory or joyous scene based on colors.
Texture
I believe the texture of the ceramic vessel itself is smooth and curved to the touch. The painted used also seems to be smooth.
Balance
The balance of this piece is asymmetrical. The larger figures do draw more of your attention towards them. Also the bright colors such as the reds and oranges visually weightier.
Emphasis
The emphasis of this work is the nude body of a sacrificial man lying on the altar. My eyes are drawn to this body with blood dropping down. Also this poor victim seems to be looking straight at me in agony. I think the other characters in the artwork are appealing to the eye but for some reason I still cannot take my sees off the victim. Therefore, the victim is the only focal point in this scene.
Rhythm
Some of the repeated elements I see are in the colors and shapes painted on the clothing of the men. In the scene itself it flows in an eccentric rhythm, which is irregular. When looking at the scene as a whole it does have a unified rhythm that flows well.
Container with painting
This container serves as a piece of artwork, vessel for storing liquids and tells a story. The polychrome paint used on this vessel is flat in color. Ceramics are a fragile medium to work with until they have been fired. I believe that the artist could create any picture or scene without many limitations. The vessel probably looks the same today as when the artist painted it because firing the ceramic sets the paint and it cannot wear or fade off.
BY
MICHELLE TAYLOR
Introduction
I attended the Dallas Museum of Art on December 2, 2008 and the work of art I choose to discuss for my visual/formal analysis is the Cylindrical vessel with sacrificial scene. The vessel is from Guatemala or Mexico, in the Maya Late Classic period in c. A.D. 600-850. This vessel portrays a human sacrifice in detail. In this paper I will focus on the art elements and art principles.
Line
This particular art piece, I definitely see outlines, which show objects, shapes and forms. The lines that outline the subjects are dark black and very bold and thick. The victim’s lines are showed vertically on the vessel and he is frontally facing the viewer. The men around the victim all show lines of being horizontal with some motion noted by the dancing.
Shape
There are many shapes used in this artwork. The artwork itself is a regular shape, cylinder, which is three-dimensional. The painting on the vessel is in a multi-point perspective where it employs multiple depths to the image creating the true three-dimensional scene. The vessel has a large opening on the top and hollow in the inside so the mass is slightly less than the volume. In addition, many different shapes are used to create the animals and humans painted on the vessel. The victim of coarse is showed as a weak figure and somewhat grotesque with blood. The men around the victim are seen a proud and strong figures. The animals, the macaw and jaguar, also seem to represent themselves as strong figures because the men are holding them. All the humans are proportional in size to one another. The animals seem to be slightly smaller than the humans. I believe the figures are located in the foreground of the vessel. It is in my opinion that the artist placed the figures in front because this is an important ritual in which tells a story without words.
Space
The vessel is 8 ¼ inches in height and cylinder in shape. The size of the vessel does dwarf compare to us. The painting around the cylinder appears to be flat. The vanishing point in the scene is the victim lying on the altar, which show one-point perspective.
Light
In the ritual scene there is slight shading and changes in color, which imply light. Because the background of this scene is completely black the colors from the animals, men and clothing bring out the light in the painting. The value creates the illusion of depth and illusion in this scene.
Color
When I first glance at this vessel I see the red and black colors. But
the more I look at it the more I see orange, brown, white, gray and browns. I believe that hue of the vessel is the color red. I think the color red shows defeat and makes the viewer somewhat scared or frighten. I do not see any complimentary colors used in the artwork but I do see some analogous colors used. I see high the intensity colors of red and orange and the main value color as black. The entire background of the vessel is black and seems to be very dark. Some of the ritual scene such as the dancing seems to have brighter and warmer colors. For myself, it is difficult to understand if this ritual is suppose to represent a gory or joyous scene based on colors.
Texture
I believe the texture of the ceramic vessel itself is smooth and curved to the touch. The painted used also seems to be smooth.
Balance
The balance of this piece is asymmetrical. The larger figures do draw more of your attention towards them. Also the bright colors such as the reds and oranges visually weightier.
Emphasis
The emphasis of this work is the nude body of a sacrificial man lying on the altar. My eyes are drawn to this body with blood dropping down. Also this poor victim seems to be looking straight at me in agony. I think the other characters in the artwork are appealing to the eye but for some reason I still cannot take my sees off the victim. Therefore, the victim is the only focal point in this scene.
Rhythm
Some of the repeated elements I see are in the colors and shapes painted on the clothing of the men. In the scene itself it flows in an eccentric rhythm, which is irregular. When looking at the scene as a whole it does have a unified rhythm that flows well.
Container with painting
This container serves as a piece of artwork, vessel for storing liquids and tells a story. The polychrome paint used on this vessel is flat in color. Ceramics are a fragile medium to work with until they have been fired. I believe that the artist could create any picture or scene without many limitations. The vessel probably looks the same today as when the artist painted it because firing the ceramic sets the paint and it cannot wear or fade off.
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