1/15/09

Pictorial Space - Assyrian Panels



This is a relief gypsum sculpture guarded the throne room at the palace of Ashurnasirpal II in Nimrud (ancient Kalhu, the Assyrian capital) and is dated 883-859 BC.

Click on the image, carefully look at the pictorial space and study the visual cues indicating space and position. Is the space shallow, deep, both? What are the relationships between the head, torso, hips and legs? Is he walking, standing, or both? Is he facing us, turning away, or both? How much space is between his torso and and the deer? Is it shallow, deep, or both simultaneously?

If you look long enough at the image, a tension between the 2D and 3D begins to occur - an oscillation of the pictorial space. To see this, the way we view the image must be an active - and not a passive - process. What can we take from this experience and apply to our own pictorial efforts?

Link British Museum
Image © Trustees of the British Museum

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