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Post 3: Formal Analysis of Assurnasirpal II Killing Lion
The Assyrian pierce of ‘Assurnaspiral II Killing Lions’ really caught my eye with its portrayal of Assurnasirpal II as a very courage’s leader who is not afraid to face dangers and fight for his people. Your eye is immediately drawn to Assurnaspiral who is in the very center of this piece atop his chariot. On both sides of him are lions which he is slaying, this arrangement seems to give off the perception that he is surrounded by danger and singlehandedly can take care of it. Following his chariot are his guards who rally behind his lead, their arrangement behind Assurnaspiral gives him a sense of being a leader in this piece.
Most of the creatures or people in this piece are viewed in profile which seems to be a pretty common type for this time period. The exception to this is Assurnasirpal II who is actually in more of a composite stance with his head being in profile but his upper body to be facing the viewer. With king Assurnaspiral being the only person not in profile gives me the impression that he is meant to be the focus of the piece, standing different from the rest of the characters. It almost gives the impression that he stands different from all men, perhaps giving him a sense of being larger than life. The piece uses a distinctive line style to add detail in the form of the horse’s hair, people’s beards and even the lion’s manes. It appears to be in a low relief form, attached to the wall pierce and only sticking out a tiny bit. However the use of shadows around the lions and horses provide a sense life to the creatures. A viewer might look at this and see the lifelike lions jumping off the page. One thing missing from this piece is a large variation of color, it appears all carved from a single slab with the only coloring coming from the shadows and ageing. This makes me wonder, if this piece was used in a place, at one time could it have had color and perhaps it did not last over the years.
There are not real big things that are out of scale in this image. All the men, even Assurnaspiral are of similar heights, the lions and horses are the sizes one would expect them to be. It seems to have more of a lifelike appearance when it comes to the scale and proportions of things. Coming in at only 39” this piece is not something that is very towering or monumental, but being that it is a pierce on the wall of his palace, perhaps it was in a collection of wall sculptures that when all combined they would be pretty astonishing to see.
Going back to the lions in this piece, there seems to be a great detail gone into the portal of the lions as lifelike. The second lion that is lunging at the chariot have particular emphasis on its fangs. It gives a very dangerous appearance; the king is basically face to face with this ferocious creature. This arrangement refers back to this pierce showing Assurnasirpal as a courageous leader, this could give the viewer the impression that if he faces lions on face to face, he must be also courageous when dealing with stately matters.
Although everything seems pretty proportionate in this piece, I notice that if I look closely, Assurnaspiral is actually the highest on the page. The chariot gives him a little bit of a perch and raises him up above everything else on the page, even the driver of the chariot. I get the impression that this was intended as a way to add to his importance, being the tallest, you look up to him and see the king towering above the lion.
This scene seems to have a constant flow, I kind of get the idea that the reigns of the horses and shields of his followers create a triangular shape which seems to come to a point at the king, although this is not very clear, it seems to add to the sense of his importance in the piece with all other things seeming to pointing to him in one way or another.
Nice thoughts, Andrew. I also get the sense that Assurnasirpal is a strong leader. There are a lot of strong, dynamic lines in the piece that surround Assurnasirpal: the diagonals of his sword, spear, quiver, and even the spokes of the wheel make the center of the composition (where Assurnasirpal is placed) seem more dynamic, energetic, and strong.
ReplyDelete-Prof. Bowen
I was surprised to read that this piece is only 39" tall. When looking at it the piece appears to be something that could potentially take up a whole wall. As you said it most have been a piece out of a collection. I find it interesting that we are now starting to see muscle definition in animals and humans alike in this time period. The lions were probably represented this way to show that while they are strong Assurnasirpal was even stronger and more powerful and capable of killing them. Thus, showing he was a strong ruler and could take on anything.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your thoughts on this piece. I totally see the triangle, and agree that that shape draws your eye to the top point, making the king the most important element. I also concur with your thoughts on the shadows making the animals look more life like. While the relief may not have been very noticeable, had there been no relief I don't think that it would have been as effective or energetic.
ReplyDeleteYou could also say that the repitition of the horses adds depth to the art because the artist is letting the viewer know that, although its a profile view there is still energy taking place behind the action.
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