A History of Art for Beginners and Students: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture

by Clara Erskine Clement Waters

The number of Assyrian statues that have been found is small; this one given here (Fig. 10), of Sardanapalus I., is in the best state of preservation of any of them. It is smaller than life size, being about forty-two inches high. The statuettes of the Assyrians are less artistic than the statues. They are made from a clay which turned red in baking, and are colored so as to resemble Greek pottery. They are almost always of a grotesque appearance, and usually represent gods or genii. They also combine human and animal forms in a less noble and artistic way than is done in the Egyptian representation of the Sphinx. There are also small figures of animals in terra-cotta, principally dogs and ducks. But the large and small statues of the Assyrians are their most unimportant works in sculpture. It is in their bas-reliefs that their greatest excellence is seen, and in them alone their progress in art can be traced. This sort of sculpture seems to have been used by the Assyrians just as painting was used in Italy after the Renaissance. It was their mode of expressing everything. Through it they gave expression to their religious feeling; they told the history of their nation, and glorified their kings; they represented the domestic scenes which now make the subjects of genre pictures; and even imitated vegetables and fruits, as well as to reproduce landscapes and architecture in these pictures cut from stone. In truth, it is chiefly from the bas-reliefs that we learn the history of Assyria, and in this view their sculptures are even more important than when they are considered merely from an artistic view.

The most ancient palaces at Nimrud furnish the earliest examples of bas-relief. These date at about the end of the tenth century B.C. One striking peculiarity in the design is that all the figures, both men and animals, are given in exact profile. In spite of this sameness of position they have much spirit and action. The picture of a lion-hunt given here (Fig. 11) is one of the very best of these reliefs, and you will notice that the animal forms are much superior to those of the human beings. This is true of all Assyrian art in all its stages. In these oldest bas-reliefs there are no backgrounds; but later on these are added, and mountains, hills, streams, trees, and wild animals are all introduced as details of the general design. The highest state of this art was reached about 650 B.C. At this period the various forms seem to be more varied and less arranged according to some rule. The human faces and figures are more delicately finished, and there is an air of freedom and a spirit in the handling of the subjects that is far better than that of any other time. The plants and trees are far more beautiful than before.

Fig. 11.—Lion-hunt.
From Nimrud.

The figures of animals, too, are full of life and action in this period. I shall only give one illustration, and shall choose the head of a lion, probably the best specimen of animal drawing which is yet known in Assyrian art. It represents the head of a wounded lion, who, in his agony, rushes upon a chariot and seizes the wheel with his teeth. The drawing of this head, as a portrayal of agony and fierceness, compares favorably with anything of the same kind belonging to any age of art, either classic or modern (Fig. 12).

There is a question which has not yet been decided as to the amount of color used on the Assyrian bas-reliefs. From the traces of color remaining on those that are found in the excavations, and from what we know of the use of colors on the buildings to which the bas-reliefs belonged, we may be sure that colors were used on them; but to what extent cannot be told. It may have been applied with the freedom of the Egyptians, or it may have been sparingly used, as was the manner of the ancient Greeks. The colors that have been found in the ruins of Assyria are white, black, red and blue.

Next to the sculpture, the metal work of the Assyrians was the most important of their arts. This work was done in three ways: I. Whole figures or parts of figures cast in a solid shape. II. Castings of low bas-reliefs. III. Embossed designs made chiefly with the hammer, but finished with the graver. In the solid castings there are only animal forms, and lions are far more numerous than any other creature. Many of them have a ring fastened to the back, which indicates that they were used for weights. These castings are all small and their form good; but we have no reason to think that the Assyrians could make large metal castings.

Fig. 12.—Wounded Lion biting a Chariot-wheel.
From the North Palace, Koyunjik.