The Authorization of Power How do each of these works of art authorize power?

1. The Authorization of Power • How do each of these works of art authorize power? • Another way to think about these works of art is to think of them as propaganda—they are making an argument on behalf of an individual or a group of individuals. • Ask yourself: • What is the argument? • How is this argument effectively communicated? • On whose behalf is the argument made?

2. Otto I Presenting Magdeburg Cathedral to Christ from Magdeburg Ivories962-968 • For the decoration of the Magdeburg Cathedral, Otto the Great had a group of ivory plaques made in Milan. • They were all once part of the same object - either an antependium, a bishop's throne, or a pulpit - that Otto donated for the newly built cathedral. • It is likely that the occasion of the donation was the raising of Magdeburg to an archbishopric in 968. • They are wonderful to look at, because they are intended to instruct, report, and remind the viewer of key events or lessons from the New Testament. • These ivories are also used by Otto the Great as a way to authorize his power as Christ’s secular representative.

3. Jacques-Louis David Napoleon Crossing the Saint Bernard 1800-1801 oil on canvas How did Napoleon actually cross the Alps? Whose names are “carved” in the rock at Napoleon’s feet? …Charlemagne, Hannibal, Napoleon—links Napoleon to other great generals/warriors…Napoleon is not authorized by God but by being “like” other god-like warriors….

4. Stele of Hammurabic. 1792-1750 Babylonia

5. Stele of Hammurabic. 1792-1750 The two men at the top of the stele are Hammurabi and Shamash (the sun god and god of justice). Hammurabi created the most important set of legal codes from the Ancient Near East. These legal codes predate the biblical Ten Commandments and may be the source of these laws. This image on the stele argues powerfully that Hammurabi’s code was given directly to him by god—by Shamash. Notice the rays of light which emanate from Shamash’s shoulders. He is seated on a throne which is “seated” at the top of a mountain. Notice too that Hammurabi is almost as large as Shamash; Hammurabi addresses Shamash directly. The idea represented here is that the laws are somehow immutable and divine--the laws are given to man by god.

6. Stele of Hammurabic. 1792-1750 This stele is intended to ensure the uniform treatment of people throughout the kingdom. Below the image of Shamash and Hammurabi there is a tremendous amount of writing in cuneiform. This text has three parts: the first enacts the king’s investiture—his right to rule; the second section of the text is an ode to the king’s glory (Hammurabi is the best and most powerful of all kings); the third part is the most significant to us. The third section records three hundred specific laws that govern Babylonia. These laws were written in cuneiform in an accessible language and were meant to be easily understood by the common man. The language is very direct; forbidden actions and the requisite punishment are recorded. Significantly, the laws are uniform and apply to all people regardless of wealth, class, or gender. The king’s role is to act as an intermediary between his citizens and the gods.

7. Harold swears an oath. • The Bayeux Tapestry • Romanesque Period 1050-1150 • Norman Conquest of Anglo-Saxon Britain: 1066 • Norman means from Normandy, France (north west coast) • 1066 Battle of Hastings • Duke William II of Normandy (1035-1087; died at age 52 years) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8OPQ_28mdo&edufilter=-UYcvQGRLktRabtXL3Eq1w • BBC Bayeux Tapestry

8. Ambrogio LorenzettiView of the frescoesSala dei Nove, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena 1338-40

9. Ambrogio Lorenzetti Allegory of the Good Government1338-40 Palazzo Pubblico, Siena Ambrogio Lorenzetti's most revolutionary achievement - one of the most remarkable accomplishments of the Renaissance - is the fresco series that lines three walls of the room in the Palazzo Pubblico where Siena's chief magistrates, the Nine, held their meetings (Sala dei Nove). These frescoes offer an argument about what constitutes good government. The frescoes make a further argument about why good government matters…. • Commune of Siena (with orb and specter)—the largest figure • Faith, Hope and Charity are above his head… • Virtues flank the Commune of Siena • Justice is to the Commune’s far left—Wisdom floats above her, on either side Commutative Justice and Distributive Justice • Concordia (seated) presides over the 24 members of the great Council of the Siena Republic

10. Jacques-Louis DavidThe Death of Marat 1793oil on canvas, approx 5’ x 4’ A supreme example of both Neoclassicism as well as history painting…Why? Jean-Paul Marat was a radical pamphleteer (a writer of incendiary pamphlets) for the Jacobians (the egalitarian democrats who presided over the reign of terror “fter/during the French Revolution—remember Robespierre?). He was murdered by Charlotte Corday.With a knife. In his bath. This work constructs Marat as an iconic figure of the French Revolution: he is at once like a classical god and a religious martyr.

11. Hatshepsut as Sphinx, Dynasty 18, c. 1473-1458 BCE

12. Ashurnasirpal II Killing Lions Assyria

13. Ara Pacis--the Altar of Augustan Peace, Rome 13-9 BCE marble The Ara Pacis commemorates Augustus’s triumphal return to Rome after establishing Roman rule in Gaul (present day France and Belgium). This work is a carefully articulated expression of political propaganda: it is meant to celebrate Augustus as both a warrior and peacemaker.

14. 3 6 1 4 5 2 Imperial Procession, detail of a relief on the south side of the Ara Pacis The depiction of children in an official relief was new to the Augustan period and reflects Augustan’s desire to promote family life. Roman Realism: a portrait of the imperial family 1. Tiberius (the next emperor after Augustus, Livia’s eldest son) 2. Antonia (niece of Augustus) 3. Drusus (Livia’s younger son, married to Antonia) 4. Germanicus 5. Gnaeus 6. Domitia

15. Allegory of Peace, relief on the east side of the Ara Pacis The mother Earth (Tellus Mater) nurtures the Roman People; on either side: the land wind (left): swan, jug of fresh water, and the vegetation symbolizes fertility of Roman farms and the sea wind (right): dominance over the Mediterranean .

16. Human-Headed Winged Lion Lamassu (plural: lamassus) 883-859 Assyrian This sculpture has the bearded head of a man, the powerful body of a lion or bull, the wings of an eagle, and the horned headdress of a god. A pair of these sculptures would flank the entry to the throne room. What is a lamassu? Why is a lamassu large—usually twice a man’s height? What is the purpose of the lamassu?

17. Human-Headed Winged Lion Lamassu (plural: lamassus) 883-859 Assyrian The entire purpose of a lamassu is to inspire civic pride and to inspire fear. A lamassu is a guardian-protector of an Assyrian palace or throne room. Usually a lamassu is twice a man’s height to symbolize the strength of the ruler the lamassu defends. Why does the lamassu have five legs? Hint: How is the viewer meant to interact with this sculpture?