The Ife Head 12th - 15th century. British Museum.
Portrait of The Ooni (King) Oba-Esigie of the Benin Kingdom, Ife Nigeria. Ife was a city state situated by the lower Niger river. It became a political, economic and spiritual power through it's capacity to command trading routes.This and other beautiful examples of their art were discovered in a compound in Ife in 1938.
Most of the many bronzes that were created are thought to have been made to celebrate their king, royal family and retainers, or to commemorate state events. The bronzes were created using the lost wax method. These naturalistic portraits seem to me to have so much expression and individuality. They are as meaningful to us for that reason. It was said, at the time of discovery, that they were comparable to the classical sculpture of ancient Greece and Rome. It is my feeling that perhaps these Benin bronzes have more individuality and truth to humanity than many Greco-Roman busts where the aim was to portray their subject as a perfect image.
Female head with crown 12th - 15th century. National commission of museums & monuments, Lagos. Copyright Phot Scala, Florence 2012
Ife Bronze Head 12th - 15th century. National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria.
Florentine Baroque
Cosimo III de' Medici (1642-1723) Grand Duke of Tuscany. Artist: Giovanni Battista Foggini (1652-1725)
These meltingly carved busts (above & below) of father and son are surely the finest examples of the portrait style of G. B. Foggini, the leading sculptor of the Florentine Baroque. While strong echoes of Bernini date the creation of the pair to shortly after the younger artist's return from Rome, they already exhibit Foggini's talent for the depiction of material opulence that earned him the post of Medici court sculptor.
Dynamic contrasts abound: the fragile lace cravats and lavish mantles (emulating modes of the contemporary French court) set off the realistically depicted faces. They in turn provide their own study in contrasts: the commanding pose and classic Habsburg
physiognomy of the balding father serve as counterpoint to the sweet, somewhat unformed face of the youth, overwhelmed by a delirious cascade of curls. Foggini's artistic genius inaugurated the final flourish of Medici patronage. These busts, modeled from life, were followed by a series portraying other family members, all intended to promote the political aspirations of the fading dynasty.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/208149
Ferdinando de' Medici (1663-1713) Grand Prince of Tuscany. Artist: Giovanni Battista Foggini (1652-1725)
Japenese Noh Masks
In contrast to the Benin Heads and the Busts by Foginni, the Noh masks were made for performance in the Japanese Noh theatres. the actors face is mostly concealed. The actor feels that the mask has a spiritual power, the Noh masks usually portray a neutral expression. The mask can take on different emotions according to the position of the actors head or body, the angle of lighting is also important in this respect. Noh theatre began before the 14th century and was probably derived from the ritual ceremonies performed in Buddhist temples. Originally, the Noh mask was seen to be integral to the idea of reaching "Hana" (the highest artistic achievement) which was said to be the combination of natural talent, learned skill and the impression of easiness, which finally creates beauty.
Noh Theatre mask (17th-18th century)
Noh Theatre mask (17th-18th century)
African Ceremonial masks
African ceremonial masks are integrated into a performance and usually enable those wearing it and others taking part to become spiritually at one with the character portrayed by the mask. These ceremonies perform a variety of functions and mask styles vary according to tribal traditions.
One of the masks displayed at the mask festival at Burkina Faso 2014. www.aouaga.com
One of the masks displayed at the mask festival at Burkina Faso 2014. www.aouaga.com
The modernist architect, Louis Sullivan provided this very apt quote about form and function.
I like it in context of appreciating the pieces described above.
"Whether it be the sweeping eagle in his flight, or the open apple-blossom, the toiling workhorse, the blithe swan, the branching oak, the winding stream at its base, the drifting clouds, over all the coursing sun, form ever follows function, and this is the law. Where function does not change form does not change. The granite rocks, the ever-brooding hills, remain for ages;the lightning lives, comes into shape, and dies in a twinkling.
It is the pervading law of all things organic and inorganic, of all things physical and
metaphysical, of all things human and all things superhuman, of all true manifestations of the
head, of the heart, of the soul, that the life is recognizable in its expression, that form ever
follows function."
(Lois Sullivan 1896)