Body in Motion Art Progression

Body in Motion Art Progression

Introduction

Ancient art sculptures provide a timeline of how the human body in motion has progressed. The earliest figurative art dates back 233,000 years. Two ultra-primitive sculptures, Venus of Berekhat Ram and Venus of Tan-Tan, are the oldest humanoid objects that have been discovered. This research depicts the ancient period between 30,000 B.C.E. and 500 C.E. which showed the history of the body in motion through sculpture art. One of the characteristics of prehistoric sculptures is Venus figurines. They are largely depicted as stationary with no motion. Most of them are 2-10 inches tall and have several attributes in common. They are female figures, almost always very obese, with tapered heads and legs. The breasts, abdomen, vulva, hips and thighs are exaggerated. They are commonly thought to represent fertility.

The second progression in sculpture art portrays some motion. A clear, simple art formula used by the Greeks for most of the 6th century was the type of sculpture known as a kouros. This portrayed a male youth statute, walking with the left leg forward and hands clenched at the side.

The active body in motion is the third progression of art form. There is a lot of action depicted in these sculptures. One such figure is a bronze mirror supported with a draped woman carved in the mid-5th century B.C.

The Venus of Willendorf is one of the earliest known human figures. With its enormous breasts, protruding belly, and stylized round head, the sculpture is more a cluster of spheres than an individualized woman. It was probably a fertility fetish, symbolizing abundance. It is 4 3/8” tall. Hunter-gatherers most likely carved this figure about 25,000 years ago. The environment at the time was a harsh ice-age. It would have been highly desirable to be fat and was likely a fertility symbol.

The craftsmanship of The Venus of Willendorf is superb. The sculpture is a naked obese woman from the Stone Age. It is made of oolitic limestone. It is very large, primitive, very round, not realistic and not in proportion. The well-carved vulva indicates the artist was very knowledgeable of human anatomy. The feet are very small, with no indication of ankles. There are varied opinions regarding the pattern around the head. Some say it’s a woven or crocheted hat that’s pulled down low over the face. Others say it is braided hair. It could also be basketry because there were woven textiles at the time. (Dons Maps, n.d.). It is housed in the Vienna Museum of Natural History.

Lesser known Venuses include the following:

• Venus of Berekhat Ram (230,000 – 700,000 BCE)

• Venus of Tan-Tan (200,000 – 500,000 BCE)

• Venus