Palette of King Narmer, from Hierakonpolis, Egypt, 3000-2920 BCE, Slate, 2’1” high

-This palette records the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt as a single event, even though it would have happened over several centuries.

-This is a unique example of Egyptian art because it is not concerned with funerary practices but is instead commemorative.

-This was one of the earliest preserved historical works and it is the earliest labeled piece of historical art.

Hannah Steele, image from http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5UpQIi6873w/UWsZMfYXHII/AAAAAAAABAg/LKJ4P-XzCCM/s1600/NarmPalette1.gif

The intertwined necks of these two felines reference Egypt’s unification. Furthermore, the indentation between them would have been used to hold eye makeup.

On the back (let), the king wears the crown of Upper Egypt. On the front (right), the king wears the crown of Lower Egypt. This shows how he was ruler of both.

Here, men lay dead with their heads in between their legs. This, along with how the king towers above the other figures, establishes the king’s great power.

Raphael, School of Athens, Rome, Italy, 1509-1511, Fresco, 19’ x 27’

Hannah Steele, image from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Sanzio_01.jpg

-This was made for the Stanza della Segnatura (the library) in papal apartments in the Vatican. It was under the commission of Julius II.

-This was one of four frescoes Raphael made for this library. Each painting was under a different heading: theology, law, poetry, and philosophy. This was under the Philosophy heading. As a group, the headings refer to the areas in which a pope would be knowledgeable in and acquainted with.

-School of Athens shows two sides of philosophy – the side concerned with the ethereal or the heavenly realm and the side concerned with physical earth.

Here Raphael included himself. He is placed in a group with mathematicians and scientists. Oddly, that is fitting as the perspective he used took a lot of math.

The philosophers on Plato’s side were all men concerned with the theoretical while the philosophers on Aristotle’s side were all men concerned with the observable.

Plato (left) wears purple, representing air, and red, representing fire. Both of these are weightless elements and signify his concern for the ethereal. His pointing up to heaven also signifies this. Aristotle (right) points to the earth. He wears blue, representing water, and brown, representing earth. These, along with how he motions down to the earth, point to his concern with the physical world around him.

Hannah Steele, image from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Cranach_law_and_grace_woodcut.jpg

Lucas Cranach the Elder, Allegory of Law and Grace, 1530, Woodcut, 10 5/8” x 1’3/4”

-The Reformation and Counter-Reformation split the Christendom in half. This work expresses the differences between the two sides, Catholicism and Protestantism.

-The left side, the side presenting Catholicism, shows sinners being sent to hell on Judgment Day.

-The right side, the side presenting Protestantism, shows sinners being saved by God’s grace.

Catholicism Protestantism

Here, Christ raises his left hand. This is a gesture of damnation. Moses is holding the Ten

Commandments – the law the Catholics strove to follow in order to earn their salvation.

Blood flows from Christ’s body onto the sinner. This represents how God showers us with grace.