Political Agenda

The Assyrians rose to power in the fractious area of the Middle East lead by kings who went to great lengths to present themselves as all powerful. In fact, propaganda was a key means in which Assyrian Kings asserted and maintained power and they developed a sophisticated means of using narrative to tell their stories.  Please review the recent exhibition of Assyria: Palace Art of Ancient Iraq currently not on view at the Getty Villa  (because of Covid 19) but available on their website at: https://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/assyria/  (Links to an external site.)  You will select two works from the Getty Villa’s exhibition to analyze. I would like you to fully read  https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/a-brief-introduction-to-the-art-of-ancient-assyrian-kings/  (Links to an external site.) to help you contextualize the works and understand how narrative is used by the Assyrians.  The blog addresses the types of narrative devises used  by the Assyrians who were the masters of telling  complex stories visually.  After reading it, you will be able to identify cyclical, synoptic, panoramic, and continuous narrative works.  The blog will also contextualize the works and offers links to other British Museum blog posts that will provide more information on relevant contextual topics such as lion hunts and the palace gardens.   For each of your two works, I would like you to write 1-2 pages that  Identify your work, title, date, location include an image of your work embedded on the page (about 2 inches if fine) Describe your chosen work -remember to use art historical terminology Analyze how the work reflects the political agenda of the Assyrian King  Interpret how narrative is used in the relief.