A museum is an entity that showcases various historical artworks like paintings, photographs, and sculptures. The Birmingham Museum of Art is one of the most remarkable galleries in the United States, with a collection of over 24,000 prints, paintings, drawings, decorative arts, and sculptures from across the world (Youmna & Yamuna, 2020). The main entrance is on the right-hand side across from New Street Station, after turning to the right at the very end of the Council House. Art museums safeguard history and time through various labeled exhibitions, such as the six pieces of art included in this paper.
The Egyptian grey ibis in the museum has a long neck, oval body, and legs. Ness (2021) shares that depictions of African kings and kingdoms catch one’s attention owing to their closeness. The picture depicts black and active people who are tall and youthful, carrying sticks. The Sacred Ibis was affiliated with the divine Thoth and was meant to protect the country from serpents and plagues at bay. The sculpture was almost certainly made as a votive sacrifice to Thoth. Birds symbolize human limitations because they can swim, fly, and travel vast distances.
The second is the Chinese black wine vessel, a pear-shaped bottle covered with banana leaves, a lotus petal, and lotus pond designs representing Chinese culture. Ahmady and Kaluarachchi (2021) state that a pear-shaped bottle is ceramic with glaze blue ornamentation. Museum prints and paintings demonstrate the diversity of Chinese and African civilizations. The next chamber houses the Dream of Italy by Robert S. Duncanson, depicting how Italians yearned for peace and tranquillity. A bright golden sun far to the west, green foliage, dispersed clouds, and beautiful blue water are represented in the artwork. Given the turbulence in Duncanson’s nation during this period, it is not difficult to interpret A Dream of Italy as the artist’s yearning for peace and tranquility.
Another picture in this structure depicts the Ascetic Shakyamuni, who is reclining and contemplating various occurrences (Youmna & Yamuna, 2020). The ascetic Shakyamuni sculpture shows a gold painting, anxious and bewildered in many ways. The Buddha picture represents a man filled with frustrations of life with a beards and long hair with curls. Sakyamuni’s unusual, realistic representation is thought to have arisen in Central Asia besides the Silk Road oasis.
The first picture is a painted and plated linen and marble Funerary Mask dating from 664BC to 332BC. It is positioned to stare at a mummy displayed beneath the glass effectively. Masks were an essential part of Ancient Egyptian funerals. The mask was supposed to be worn over a mummy’s wrapped head to protect the deceased’s head (Youmna & Yamuna, 2020). Egyptians believed that a person’s spirit might exit the limits of the tomb following death. The mummy mask allowed the soul to identify the body that bandage layers would have otherwise obscured.
Another great sculpture is the Four Evangelists, a terracotta sculptural model by Italian artist Giuseppe Bernardi. The four terracottas are models of sculptures that are preliminary small-scale sketches for the enormous marble bordering the nave of Santa Maria Della Fava in Venice (Youmna & Yamuna, 2020). They are the only known sculptural drawings by Giuseppe Bernardi, the instructor of Antonio Canova, the famous Neo-classical artist. The robust musculature of the figurines and the dynamic folds of the garments demonstrate Bernardi’s exceptional modeling talents in these pieces. They also show the roots of Canova’s own deft and emotive clay methods.
In conclusion, visiting the museum is one of the fun pastimes and is more than just an aesthetic pleasure to preserve the past. It strives to educate and improve the next generation, disconnected from the cultural meanings of historical customs. It is an excellent platform for viewers to open up and learn about the oldest and most diverse civilizations. The art pieces included in this paper, art museums safeguard history and time.
References
Ahmady, Y., Kaluarachchi, Y. (2021). The Influence of Lighting Settings on Museum’s Brand Image and Human Satisfaction in Exhibition Halls Using Virtual Reality. In: Ahram, T., Taiar, R., Langlois, K., Choplin, A. (eds) Human Interaction, Emerging Technologies and Future Applications III. IHIET 2020. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1253. Springer, Cham. Web.
Ness, C. (2021). ‘Dressed to the Nines’, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Textile History, 51(2): 254-257. Web.