Two sample notes on Lady of Auxerre: one done correctly, one not! Can you tell?

Ms. Sweeney Period 1

Lady of Auxerre

Recent History • discovered in museum storeroom • in Auxerre, central France • early 20th century • currently in the

Origin • Probably from island of o based on limestone it’s made from • Renewal of stone in in 7th century • Similar to other funerary statues found on Crete o often Archaic sculpture made as funerary sculpture = sculpture used to mark graves o probably placed on a necropolis = ancient cemetery

Influences • Looks Egyptian – important source; not naturalistic as later periods • Also see influence of ancient Near Eastern culture o E.g., geometric patterns in skirt & hair

A Closer Look • Only about 2 feet tall • Not naturalistic o Elongated legs & fingers o Disproportion of head to torso and legs • While face is damaged, can recognize sculpture’s Archaic smile o Mouth has slight upturned corners o Appears on faces of most Archaic § Not only people, but animals as well o Usually found in pieces dating prior to 5th century o Suggests that subject was alive and has a sense of well-being • Use of geometric forms o Series of symbolic forms that represent the hand o Hair bundled up in squares, perhaps braids • Probably once brightly painted • Arms somewhat separated from body o unlike ancient Egyptian art where arms are wedded to body with stone in between • Not proportional: does not correspond in size to a typical body (head, torso, legs don’t match) • While arms are separated, legs are block of limestone and not separated at all o A first step towards Greek sculpture in coming centuries o Sculpture in-the-round = a free-standing sculpture not attached to a flat background o Fully carved from front to back

Heidi S.

Docent project

[Oops! Forget to include the title of my notes – and my last name and period.]

• It’s in the Louvre [I should probably say what the Louvre is for those who don’t know, but I don’t know myself, and I’m not going to bother to look it up. …] • 2 feet tall sculpture • It was discovered in a storeroom in a museum in Auxerre, France, in the 20th century. • Probably made on island of Crete based on limestone it’s made from • Its [Am still having trouble with knowing when to write its and when to write it’s -- or is it that I just don’t care. …] similar to other funerary statues found on Crete; it was probably placed in a necropolis. [I should define necropolis, but I’m not going to bother. ... I wonder if it’s any relation to polis?] • Looks Egyptian – an important source; not naturalistic as later periods. • We see the influence of ancient Near Eastern culture in terms of geometric patterns in skirt and hair. [I’m not focused on what are main points and supporting details. This is becoming just a list of facts. …] • Not naturalistic, but geometric forms [Yeah, I know, I’m being redundant – I wrote this already. …] • Series of symbolic forms that represent the hand. • Renewal of stone sculpture in Greece in 7th century [This is kind of vague. If I use it in my presentation, I won’t really know what I’m referring to. …] • Elongated legs and fingers • Jumble of proportion of head to torso to legs [These notes are also becoming a jumble. I’m skipping around too much. …] • Hair is bundled up in wonderful squares, could be braids • The arms are somewhat seperated from the body, unlike in ancient Egyptian art where arms are wedded to body with stone in between [I didn’t proofread nor did I use spellcheck. As a result, Ms. Sweeney will sigh when she corrects my spelling of separated.] • Legs are block of limestone and not separated at all • A first step towards Greek sculpture [I really should have used headings in my notes. It’s going to be hard to find what I’m looking for when I present.] • A lot of Archaic sculpture was made as funerary sculpture [Should probably define “funerary” as well. Someone’s bound to ask what it means. …] • Geometric patterns were probably brightly painted at one point. [Have I written enough sentences on my topic yet? Oops, forgot. … Sentences are frowned upon in notes. …]