Ancient Mediterranean Art, 3500–300 BCE

Absolute symmetry dictates compositional arrangement consistently across artifacts from both traditions.

Fresco was the dominant medium employed throughout both cultures for durability and vibrancy purposes.

Both include composite views combining profile and frontal perspectives for clarity in storytelling.

Each tradition utilizes a strict adherence to naturalistic space rendering without symbolic representation.

It serves as a symbol of divinity instead of human interaction.

It creates an intimate atmosphere as opposed to dramatic tension.

It highlights movement over stillness in the composition.

It emphasizes the depth of field rather than individual figures.

Impasto brushwork

Perspective drawing

Composite view

Sfumato technique

Like Titian, Velázquez maintains clear separation between his role as creator and his regal subjects depicted therein.

Velázquez includes himself among royalty within his composition, subtly asserting artist status opposed to Titian who separates subject hierarchy via compositional distance.

Velázquez emulates Titian's reverence towards monarchy, offering no discernible critique nor commentary on social order.

Both painters position themselves prominently, challenging notions separating artist from aristocratic subjects.

They depict rulers using hierarchical scale to indicate their divine status among other figures portrayed alongside them.

They use extensive hieroglyphic inscriptions to convey pharaohs’ divine narratives on their garments or crowns.

They showcase traditional representations aligning with Old Kingdom conventions for symmetry and proportionality.

They reflect the Amarna Period's move toward atypical depictions of royalty with elongated features and curvilinear forms.

Limestone.

Granite.

Sandstone.

Marble.

Caravaggio employs dramatic contrasts between light and dark to enhance realism, diverging from Raphael’s balanced lighting which emphasizes harmony.

Unlike Raphael, who disregards chiaroscuro, Caravaggio utilizes it to diminish spatial depth and flatten the pictorial space.

Both artists use chiaroscuro to create an ethereal glow around their subjects, emphasizing the spiritual over the material world.

Caravaggio uses chiaroscuro to align with the idealized forms in Raphael’s work, showcasing divine illumination within natural settings.

It showcases victory over enemies through depictions of warfare triumphs.

It illustrates domestic life importance via scenes of cooking and weaving.

It highlights agricultural fertility with imagery related to crop cycles.

It emphasizes personal sacrifice for communal stability by invoking ancestral spirits.

It introduces vibrant colors that enhance the sensuality of the figure.

The material reflects light poorly, diminishing the sculpture's visibility.

The marble creates an impression of decay and temporality.

It adds a sense of permanence and ideal beauty fitting for a goddess.

They act as narrative mechanisms telling mythological stories through intricate scenes across their surfaces.

They symbolize political power utilized within civic spaces for governance rituals.

They serve commemorative purposes, either honoring living individuals or memorializing deceased ones.

They primarily function as votive offerings to deities within temples.