Assurbanipal and His Queen in the Garden

Assurbanipal and His Queen in the Garden

The composition also has a 3D element to it. You can tell that the people are standing in front of some trees and other artifacts. It creates a more real life picture; rather it is just made of stone. The carving creates a pathway for the eye to follow from the king outward to his servants. There is that sense of visual balance in the carving just because of how your eye leaves the king and goes towards his servants. The composition gives the stone unity because each piece of the stone is working together to tell the story of the king. I also like that there are birds flying in the sky, it also adds to the real life image effect. The position of the king is not in the center which adds the rule of thirds to this stone carving. I also like that there is small detail in the trees and the vines. It must have taken a long time to create this carving. I think that simple detail adds to the realness of the composition. It is crazy to think that someone can create such amazing photos in a stone and the photos have such detail.

The piece of Assurbanipal and His Queen in the Garden has composition that tells somewhat of a story. In the stone work there is a king relaxing in his garden with his servants. You can tell the king is relaxing because he is leaning back in his chair, without his expensive king necklace. You can tell the difference between the servants and the king because the servants have fans hovered over the king. The king is also positioned the most highest in the photograph to represent the most important and most powerful. The king being higher in the stone carving is one of the elements of art, because he creates a strong view point and it shows the importance of him being king. Also every other person in the stone carving is facing him this adds drama to how important the king is.

In the carving there doesn’t seem to be a noticeable number of odd objects to make the king also stand out more, so it creates a more symmetry composition. Another visually observation is the usage of shapes in the carving. I see that there is one big triangle in the carving. I see it from the king’s head downward to the two set of servants on the left and the right of him. The queen is considered to be important but just not as important as the king so she is placed inside the triangle and a little to left.

I also think that there is a tiny hidden image of a man’s head hanging from a tree. I would have not noticed it if it wasn’t for the description in the book. I think without knowing that head was there you don’t get the sense that the carving is of a celebration. But knowing that it is there now I do see how the story of the king is him celebrating with his queen and his servants in his peaceful garden. I also noticed that the king’s face has been chipped off along with the queens. I am not sure if it was done on purpose or if it was by accident. I thought it might have just been because it’s an old artifact. but in the images I have seen on the internet the faces seem to be just fine, I think it might be the books copy or people have edited the face. I am not sure. I also notice that the king’s right hand has been chipped off as well. Seeing this made me rethink the chipping off the king and queens face. But I am still uncertain as to what actually happened to the carving.

I learned that creating something with a big subject is a good way to show that the subject is the most important. Thus, it happened with this carving. The king is in such a significant location that he quickly recognized as the superior king. I also think that it gives a little insight as to how society was back in ancient history. The king is the most superior in the carving, yet while the women are the servants. The queen however is higher than the servants but not as high as the king, this makes her superior to the servants. All in all I think that the carving is telling a story of the kings relaxing days after war. He likes to spend those days in his garden with his queen by his side.