The essay should be from one of the following works in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Choose the one you know the most: • Sphinx of Hatshepsut, ca. 1473–1458 B.C.E. Accession Number: 31.3.166 Located in Gallery 131 (The Sackler Wing, near the Temple of Dendur) • Sleeping Eros, 3rd to 2nd century B.C.E. Accession Number: 43.11.4 Located in Gallery 164 (The Tarsi and John Georgas Family Gallery) • Wall painting: Polyphemus and Galatea in a landscape, last decade of the 1st c. B.C.E. Accession Number: 20.192.17 Located in Gallery 166 (The Sylvia Josephs Berger and Joyce Berger Cowin Gallery) INSTRUCTIONS: Carefully examine your chosen object in photos on the Met’s website and elsewhere on the web. In your paper, imagine you are describing the work to a student, friend or family member (you may use the first person in your paper). In this “conversation”, address the following in relation to your piece: • Begin by identifying the artist (if known), subject, medium, and date of execution – this information is available on the the Met’s website. • How has the artist composed the work? Has the artist presented the subject convincingly? • Although you may not be able to see the object in person, speculate on how the artist’s technique affects the work’s overall appearance. Also discuss this in terms of the choice of medium. • Do we know who commissioned this piece? If so, describe why they did. If not, speculate what type of institution or person did so based on the piece’s historical context. Speculate on how the patron’s desires affect the work’s appearance. Employ the Met’s website as your first resource in investigating these issues. Avoid using blogs, Wikipedia, and other websites that lack sufficient documentation when conducting your research. • Discuss how the work fits within or differs from the stylistic tradition of its era as we have discussed it in class. Cite specific works we discusssed in class. • Discuss how the work resembles or differs from others we have seen in class from other eras. • After answering these questions, do you think the artist has created a visually enticing work? Does it appeal to you? Express your opinion at length! I will accept any recognized system of citation for footnotes and bibliography. However, do not get bogged down by research and bibliographic detail. Your grade will depend primarily on how well you analyze and contextualize your chosen work.
