Art Critique, "The Battle of Issus" by Amra
AMRA ARIF KAREEM (NCA)
Greek era mosaic, "The Battle of Issus"
Art Critique- 2011
The artwork I’ve chosen for my report is the famous mosaic from the Greek era: “the Battle of Issus”. This mosaic depicts a war scene in the c 80 B.C. This marks the defeat of a very influential rival of Alexander the great in the uneven coastal plain of Issus.
Alexander’s victory over King Darius II proves Alexander as a strong warrior which was capable of conquering vast lands. Alexander is quite famous for all his brave stuff so I’d rather concentrate on my chosen art piece and what it depicts.
Well, this mosaic, although is quite a bit worn off due to its age, still has various points to be looked at. It still carries the same importance as the war of 80 BC., a great event for the Greeks. On the first look, this mosaic tells me that its executed in warm colours partly for a strong impact and partly to describe the seriousness of the situation since war is not an everyday thing and being victorious always has to be memorable.
The horizontal layout of the mosaic is evenly covered with the components of a battlefield i.e. the tense warriors trying to own victory, horses moving here and there, king Darius II is almost in the center of the composition perhaps because his actions really matter in portraying the climax! His direct eye contact with Alexander who is on the left side of the composition says it all. Moreover, its not just the eye contact that’s grabbing our attention towards these two main characters of the so called pictoral story,
It’s the direction of the spears and arrows towards Alexander that is making us witness Alexander’s calm, brave and focused attack against Darius’s frightened, weak and retreating wide eyed-open, face. He looks as if he is sure of his defeat and is running back. On the other hand his “running back” is stressed by the horse’s back in the middle front of the layout. The artist has tried his best and is quite successful in
Greek era mosaic, "The Battle of Issus"
Art Critique- 2011
The artwork I’ve chosen for my report is the famous mosaic from the Greek era: “the Battle of Issus”. This mosaic depicts a war scene in the c 80 B.C. This marks the defeat of a very influential rival of Alexander the great in the uneven coastal plain of Issus.
Alexander’s victory over King Darius II proves Alexander as a strong warrior which was capable of conquering vast lands. Alexander is quite famous for all his brave stuff so I’d rather concentrate on my chosen art piece and what it depicts.
Well, this mosaic, although is quite a bit worn off due to its age, still has various points to be looked at. It still carries the same importance as the war of 80 BC., a great event for the Greeks. On the first look, this mosaic tells me that its executed in warm colours partly for a strong impact and partly to describe the seriousness of the situation since war is not an everyday thing and being victorious always has to be memorable.
The horizontal layout of the mosaic is evenly covered with the components of a battlefield i.e. the tense warriors trying to own victory, horses moving here and there, king Darius II is almost in the center of the composition perhaps because his actions really matter in portraying the climax! His direct eye contact with Alexander who is on the left side of the composition says it all. Moreover, its not just the eye contact that’s grabbing our attention towards these two main characters of the so called pictoral story,
It’s the direction of the spears and arrows towards Alexander that is making us witness Alexander’s calm, brave and focused attack against Darius’s frightened, weak and retreating wide eyed-open, face. He looks as if he is sure of his defeat and is running back. On the other hand his “running back” is stressed by the horse’s back in the middle front of the layout. The artist has tried his best and is quite successful in