Week 3: Votive Statue of Gudea- Formal Analysis

This is a detailed sculpture of the ruler Gudea. This sculpture was found in Girus, which is modern day Iraq. This statue of the ruler is only 2 ½ feet tall, but the ruler still gives off a very confident, strong, and peaceful appearance. This statue has an overall very balanced appearance, but my eyes are drawn first to the hands which are holding a cup with water overflowing to the sides of the with fish swimming in it, the water then draws my eyes down to his robe and back to the head.

I look first at the hands because of the large amount movement that comes from the vessel he is holding. The water is streaming out in a curvy motion that captures the eye. There is also small fish swimming up to the vessel. The water starts at about the center of the chest and continues to the feet. The water brings the eyes down to the robe. The robe was smooth and provided a surface which was covered in very detailed inscriptions. They are carved shallowly into the robe, and cover the entire bottom part of the robe. Then I look at the head of the figure. The head of this figure has very large protruding eyes on a wide face rounded face. The eyes show look like he is concentrating or looking carefully at something, but his eyebrows show no uptight motions or frowns making his expression is relaxed, yet serious. All his facial features are give off the impression that is undisturbed, also showing no sign of fear or insecurity. There is a hat on the figure that is detailed and it is said it is supposed to look like fleece, it has the pattern that fleece can have, but to me, it almost looks like a crown.

The rule of Gudea looks very confidant, strong and peaceful. His posture is upright, and has a calm yet strong composure. His muscles are well defined, but are not stressed because there are no bulging veins, no action stance, and no sign of tension. His muscle in his arm that is in view shows he has strength and gives the feeling of power because it is well-defined muscle. Only that one arm is showing, the other is covered by his robe and has the water flowing over it. 

This sculpture is a figure that is pleasing to just look at the front, and does not give a huge desire to go around the statue. It is a frontal view that is satisfying to the eye. His body position is fairly even on both sides not making me want to walk around him and he is also looking straight ahead. The statue also has a very block like appearance, not many open spaces. There or no open spaces between any of his arms or legs, it’s all connected, just making the view from the front a sufficient viewpoint. Although if you do keep your eyes on the water, it starts to trail around his robe, so it may make some people want to follow the water.

The lighting in this statue makes it slightly more dramatic and easier to see the details. The light creates shadow that enhances the statues depth. The feet draw some attention because of the lighting, the coloring gets incredibly dark, and it looks like a small cave that is formed around his feet. Just the tips of the ruler’s toes are extending out of the darkness. But because it is so dark by the feet it does draw the eyes to the feet once you have seen the hands and the water, the robe and face. The hat also utilizes the lighting. It collects a dark shadow that almost brings a dark circle around that enhances the face which makes the face of the ruler more apparent, because it is lighter than the shadow around the face.

Overall, the ruler of Gudea's physical stance and composition is what makes him look confident, strong, and peaceful. And the lighting that is used makes the statue more appealing and allows us to see more clearly the details of the sculpture.