Comparing two works of art from different periods requires careful study and an understanding of the differences that defined those periods. The concept of art and the way in which it has been organized has also changed drastically over the centuries meaning that it has to seen in the context of the period from which it came. In this paper we discuss the works of Polyuektos and Donatello as two artists separated by nearly 5 centuries and discuss the differences in the style and execution of the pieces chosen for comparison. We look at the subject matter, the perspective and various visual aids used to make the piece into a formal work of art.
Demosthenes, Polyeuktos (c. 280 BC) – marble and St Mark, Donatello (1411-1415) – marble. The first major difference evident in these pieces is clearly the date. Demosthenes was constructed during the Hellenistic period of ancient Greece, while St Mark was created during the early Renaissance in Italy.[1] Demosthenes is described by Adams as being depicted as a ‘haggard’ man who bears the pain of his difficult life on his face.[2] Demosthenes is shown holding a book, which is symbolic of his life-course and purpose. Demosthenes according to Adams was an adversary to the commonly accepted law at the times and was therefore exiled from Athens.[3] What is evident in his sculpture is the slight beginnings of contrapposto, the weighting of one foot rather than the wooden posture of the archaic Greek sculptures. Although St Mark has a more distinguished version of this mannerism, it was evidently already in use during the Hellenistic era. The hair is deeply striated in a stylized manner indicative of the time when he was created. The curls are engraved heavily, as is the beard. St Mark is also stylized to a degree, but the indentations of the hair and beard have been substantially soften and are more realistic of what human hair looks like. Where Demosthenes’ is holding his manuscripts with both hands, St Mark is not. St Mark completes the opposing stresses on the limbs (contrapposto) and this method is more marked than in Demosthenes[4]. Where Demosthenes appears to be strained and tense, St Mark is far more relaxed. This is in part given to the tension shown in Demosthenes’ hands holding the manuscript as opposed to the relaxed manner St Mark has in dropping his right hand.
Significant attention is given to the draping of St Mark’s garments, which are more elaborate than Demosthenes. Adams argues that in the Renaissance period the organic form of the drapery was used to denote the body beneath it.[5] This would mean that if the knee were bent, the drapery would not fall straight to the ground but detour over the knee. One cannot say that Polyeuktos was not aware of this or that he did not pay attention to this detail, because the drapery on Demosthenes IS indicative of a knee beneath it albeit very slight. In fact the drapery is as it should be considering the way Demosthenes is standing and also bearing in mind that the knee is not strictly ‘bent’ but rather in an un-flexed position. The purpose of both sculptures also has to be taken into account given that the Hellenistic period was one still influenced by the gods and philosophers. St Mark, by contrast is iconographic in his display[6]. He is the really a religious relic chosen to identify a religious place in the same way as Michelangelo’s Pieta or David. Demosthenes is more of a biographical account of a man who made great strides in history but suffered for his cause[7].
Essentially when viewing the two pieces we see many similarities in the raw creation of the pieces. Undoubtedly, St Mark is the more detailed of the two and has clearly undergone the greatest theoretical change. However, Demosthenes is a remarkably accomplished work in terms of its maturity, symbolism and style for a period as early as it was. Sculpture comes in so many forms but it is easy to see the similarities and differences between the two pieces especially when compared to earlier archaic work such as Phaedias and the friezes of the Parthenon.
[1] Adams. Hellenistic Sculpture: p 183 & Early Renaissance p 502.
[2] Ibid p 183.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Adams. Early Renaissance: p 502.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Adams. Why do we study art? P 14.
[7] Ibid p 16.
Art Elements And Principles
The Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, famous for his paintings reflecting the quiet and simple domestic life in the 1600s, and perhaps famous particularly because of the painting Girl With A Pearl Earring, illustrates the significant aspects and components of his art as an effective part of bringing sentiments, ideologies and meanings across. Vermeer’s perhaps less popular but equally affecting painting, Woman Holding A Balance exhibits the aforementioned quietness and simplicity of domestic life, picturing a woman dressed in a heavy coat and a shawl above her head holding a balance scale whilst standing inside the interior of a room in the seventeenth century, light flooding a corner of the room from a window, in true Vermeeer fashion. A painting of ‘the Last Judgement’ hangs on the wall just behind the woman, and she leans gingerly with one hand on the table in front of her adorned with a rich cloth and a number of jewelry.
Vermeer’s Woman Holding A Balance bears a close or contrasting resemblance to the iconic representation of justice, which also involves a blindfolded woman holding a balance scale on one hand, and a sword on the other. Vermeer’s rendition of the woman in his painting on the other hand, appears calm and quiet, her eyes not blindfolded, but halfway closed, as she appears to be lost contemplating something in quiet reverie. The balance she holds in her hand is empty, perhaps in contrast to the number of material posessions covering the spread of the table. It appears to represent that justice is, or should be free from the clutter of the mundane, of material and worldly possessions as embodied in the amount of jewelry on top of the table. The concept of justice is symbolised and interpreted as a more a spiritual and affecting element, and that which brings sentiments of tranquility and an air of quiet calmness to individuals who benefit from it. More than the air of calmness and tranquility evoked in the painting, the woman emanates a sense of fragility and delicateness about her, from the way she gingerly holds the balance, to how she appears to lean on the table, and the way she closes her eyes, the aforementioned elements are again, contrasted with the subdued turmoil, and micro-sized sentiment evoking the opposite in the painting behind her which pictures Christ and human beings in the Last Judgment.
Apart from the said elements, the tone and setting of the painting at cursory glance is largely dictated by the interplay between darkness and light, or light and shadow. The said quiet calmness emanating from the woman in the picture is also a sentiment incited by the light peeking from the window, and the shadows and dark areas which it fails to touch. These two elements, evenly balanced, establishes the tone of the painting, and contributes to the evoking of a raw, fragile, and quiet state and sentiment of tranquility and fragility. Hues of brown and yellow complement the interplay of light and shadow and mutes other sentiments which may arise therein, instead limiting it to what the elements in the painting are able to evoke, as opposed to shades and hues dictating it.
Apart from the obvious reference of the balance scale as a symbolic, and perhaps direct representation of justice, a closer look reveals that elements in the painting such as the painting of the last judgement within it, the seeming triviality and irrelevance of the jewelry covered table in one end of the small room, and ultimately the woman herself, contribute to Vermeer’s rendition of justice, its spiritual but also realistic nature: delicate, fragile, but once achieved or attained, affords individuals a sentiment of calmness and tranquility.
Arterial Line Monitoring
Arterial line monitoring is the insertion of a specialized cannula to obtain accurate and reliable readings of the blood pressure, constantly (for every heart beat). It is very useful for patients admitted to the trauma-care centers, operating theaters or intensive care units to monitor the systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressure, to determine the immediate effect of a drug on the arterial blood pressure and to obtain samples of the arterial blood for determining the arterial blood gas levels. The elements of the intra-arterial line include namely, a pressurized infusor bag with a pressure gauge, transducer, cannula and the tubing present between the transducer and the cannulae.
The pressurized infusor bag contains 500 ml of normal saline, and ensures that the arterial line does not get blocked or enters the tubing. The bag is placed constantly under 300 mm Hg pressure by inflating. Some apparatus may even contain heparin in the bag to prevent thrombosis.
The pressurized infusor bag also ensures that the arterial blood pressure reading obtained is accurate by bringing about integrity of the transducer. The transducer contains a column of fluid present between the blood from the artery and the diaphragm present within the transducer. All fluctuations of the blood pressure are transmitted by the diaphragm to a silicon chip which displays the various arterial waveforms and the corresponding blood pressure readings on a monitor screen.
The transducer should not contain air bubbles or arterial blood, as this would result getting false readings. It can also be utilized to obtain samples of the arterial blood to determine the blood gas levels. Every time the transducer is disconnected and reconnected to the tube, the readings should be reset to zero, to ensure accurate values. The transducer has to be positioned in line with the phlebostatic axis, so the readings obtained are accurate. It should be positioned at the level of the right atrium.
The tubing present between the cannula and the transducer should be firm, have a large bore, flexible and below 120 cms in length. The pulsatile motion of the fluid has to be transmitted from the cannula to the transducer without being affected with external pressure. If the length of the tube or the type of tubing is changed, the reading obtained will be inaccurate.
The cannula is a 20-guage sterile needle inserted into the artery in the opposite direction of the blood flow. Stopcocks are also present in the apparatus through which blood residues can be removed, which would otherwise encourage bacterial growth. The monitor produces arterial waveforms of the blood pressure readings which have to be interpreted.
References
- Nurse Bob (2000). Hemodynamic Monitoring Arterial Pressure Monitoring. Retrieved January 20, 2007, Tripod Web site: http://rnbob.tripod.com/artmon.htm
- Nurse Bob (2005). Hemodynamics in Critical Care Arterial Line (Art. Line). Retrieved January 20, 2007, Tripod Web site: http://rnbob.tripod.com/aline.htm
- Turner K. (2007). Arterial Blood Pressure Monitoring: An Introduction. Retrieved January 20, 2007, CIAP Web site: http://www.ciap.health.nsw.gov.au/hospolic/stvincents/stvin99/Karen2.htm