Compare And Contrast Mesopotamian And Egyptian Art

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Art has been a part of human culture for as long as culture has existed. Although art is continuously developing around the world, each culture's art still has distinct characteristics. This can be seen in the present and it was also seen in the past. Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were two cultures that existed at the same time. Although we can find many similarities in the art, there are also many differences. Sculpture in-the-round, relief sculpture, and architecture were all a part of both cultures-but not always in the same way. Sculpture in-the-round was used in both Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures to depict people of high importance. This can be seen in the Mesopotamian sculpture of "Gudea," the ruler of the Sumerian city-state Lagash, and the Egyptian sculpture of "Kafre," a fourth dynasty king. Both statues are highly stylized, although not in the same way. It is clear that these two cultures…show more content…
The relief "Assurbanipal and His Queen in the Garden" of Mesopotamia and "Akhenaten and His Family" of Egypt are both unusual scenes of royalty shown in leisurely settings and both incorporate the Kings families. Even though "Assurbanipal and His Queen in the Garden" is larger than "Akhenaten and His Family," the size difference is not too significant. Their mediums, however, do differ; Assurbanipal's is made of alabaster while Akhenaten's is painted limestone. This is also a good example of the Egyptian use of composite pose in art. While the Mesopotamian work has all the people in profile, the Egyptian one has the figures' heads in profile, their torsos in frontal view, and the legs again in profile. It also looks like they Egyptian relief employs the sunken relief technique here, in which "the original flat surface of the stone is reserved as background, and the outlines of the figures are deeply incised" (pg.71), while the Mesopotamian one is
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