William the Hippo

William the Hippo

1. I chose this artwork because of its rich cultural significance in its society of origin. While much cannot be said about the emotions and feelings it evokes from the people who created it; there are records indicating that the piece was representational of the people’s practice at the time. Culturally, the blue painting of the hippopotamus represented the Nile waters, which were the natural habitats for the hippopotamus. The flowery painting represented the belief in the cycle of life from death to the afterlife—the flowers’ petals usually opened at dawn and closed at sunset, and their inclusion in the painting alludes to the cycle of life.
2. The piece belongs to an artistic tradition of the Egyptians who lived in the Northern Kingdom, and most of the decorations were made to please this ancient community aesthetically.
3. Due to its ancient origins, there are no records of the exact artist who took part in its creation. Regardless, it is believed to have been created by the Egyptians of the upper territory in about 1878, which belongs to the prehistoric style of art (World Archaeology par 1).

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4. The visually, the art is organized into a single sculpture of a hippopotamus standing upright on a platform. The entire piece is a 3-Dimension representation of a hippopotamus, which primarily. The height, width, and depth of the sculpture give it a real-life appearance, which indicates that the artists attempted to create a representation of a real-life phenomenon.  Formal elements such as curvy lines, smooth surface textures, and a consistent color scheme make the work a colorful representation of life. Water, as represented by the color blue, reveals the value of life as it was used for irrigation, fishing, and drinking.  Yet, the hippo being enveloped in blue signified its presence in water, which implies the natural chaos and evil that come with the abundance of life. Together, life and its chaos compelled humanity into the cycle of life and death, as depicted by the flowery lines.
5. Being a sculpture, the elements all the elements of the art are in 3Dimention except color, which takes the orientation of the surface. The sculpture is painted in a monochromatic blue. The use of monochromatic paint is used to imply the uniformity of life. The monochromatic painting brings out the overall mood of uniformity in life, where both the good and the bad experiences are shared by everyone in society. Generally, the color blue is easy on the eyes (Hardley Art par 13), and it enables the viewers to make quick and easy interpretations because of the visual balance that it creates on the sculpture.
6. The hippo was molded in a ceramic material called faience (The Met par 2). Faience consists of ground quartz. The blue haze painting was done using lotuses.
7. The creators of the sculpture must have been commissioned by the Egyptian kings because for whom it would be used during burials. It was put in the kings’ tombs during burial to symbolize regeneration and rebirth. Like ancient wall paintings, the sculpture was not paid for as it was a special dedication to the royal families.
8. While the sculptures were created for keeping inside the tombs, there are no pieces of evidence to indicate that the sculptors adjusted the composition to be relevant to the conditions in the tomb.
9. The subject of the sculpture touches on the Egyptian’s belief on regeneration and rebirth (The Met par 2). The iconography for determining this subject is the black paintings of flowers all over the painting. Some flowers have open petals, and others have closed petals. These are close symbols of regeneration and rebirth because the flowers close every night and open again in the morning.
10. The symbols present in the sculpture were an expression of the ancient Egyptians beliefs. The hippopotamus was believed to be the most dangerous animal in the water, and its presence was the biggest challenge to life. It prevented fishermen from freely exploring the sea, and also limited access to water for irrigation. Therefore, the hippo was a force of nature that stood against the propriety of life in the Egyptian world.
11. The work reminds me of the Venus of Willendorf statue. I saw Venus during my visit to the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria. The Venus statue symbolized the beliefs about the fertility of the people. Seeing this statue after having seen Venus makes it easy to identify the symbols and try to give meaning to them. This is because both the statues represent cultural ideals.
12. The piece of art may have been relevant to the ancient Egyptian society, but it does not communicate any significant message regarding contemporary issues. It was commissioned by steward Sensbii II of Meir (The Met par 2).
13. I really enjoyed the craftsmanship of the sculpture. It was done professionally with a perfect balance of elements and symmetry.
14. Currently, art is preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Gallery in New York City.
15. My visit to the museum was marked with awe and satisfaction — the ease of access to the facility and historical architecture. The façade is richly illuminated, adding to the fascinating experience of viewing the artworks. Among the many sculptures was William, a statuette the same length as my forearm. It is on a special display under perfect illumination inside the museum.