Virtual Museum Visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Virtual museums are increasingly gaining dominance across the globe for the audience and its institutional clients. While there exists authoritativeness which is expected to remain critical differentiating element, the key to realize sustainability in each area, from audiences to content and infrastructure is to establish tools and platforms that enable others to create that convincing experiences (Robins 47). This will make virtual museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York to achieve the scale of its ambitions.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The selected artwork is a statue that representing Nikare, a granary official together with his family. In the sculpture, the wife (Khuennub) is kneeling to the left, and his only daughter (Khuennebti) stands to the right. The artwork was created between 2420-2389 B.C or later in Egypt, around Memphite Region, Saqqara. The statue ended up in the Metropolitan Museum of Art after it was created by Rogers Fund in 1952. This statue has been preserved in the museum of art ("Nikare with his Wife and Daughter| Old Kingdom | Dynasty 5). The limestone artwork has a lot of details and includes some significant facial attributes incorporated with detailed hands and feet. In the artwork, both the wife and daughter have been created to be much smaller as compared to him, and this shows the hierarchy in any family in the society. Their presence in the artwork provides some interesting facts and sends a special message to the audience and tourists to the museum. Both the wife and the daughter plays an essential part in ensuring Nike's life is complete as a father and a granary official. The artwork is bilaterally symmetrical, and this is a symbol of order and control between the three. Nikare has the largest proportion than the wife Khuennub while the smallest in the family is the daughter. It is equal on both side of the vertical axis, with the only different side being Nikare's clamped right hand first and the posture of the wife and daughter. A general description of this artwork is frontal, immobile and completely composed. The artwork has similarity to other western artworks in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in that there is a specific focus on the need to express identity for the purpose of preserving it for the life after and the generations that follow.

Sphinx of Hatshepsut an artwork from a class that depicts a female pharaoh with a human head and a lion body and a mane head close and a royal beard. In the artwork, the masculinity of the lion is contrasted to an attractive and perfect face of the pharaoh. This sculpture was among the six granite sphinxes that were presented at Hatshepsut's mortuary temple. The first similarity between Sphinx of Hatshepsut and this piece is that both have Egyptian origin and depicts the ancient life and struggles of the Egyptians (Schweibenz 15). Secondly, both artworks represent royalty and power. Thirdly, both sculptures represent a high level of creativity. Pharaoh Hatshepsut was the second female ruler ever recorded in the Egyptian history after Sobekneferu while Nikare is the head of the family and a granary official. This is further represented in the proportion of their shape. Nikare has the largest compared the wife Khuennub and the daughter who has the smallest proportion in the family. Similarly, the artwork is proportionally distributed from the vertical axis, with the only different side being Nikare's clamped right hand first and the posture of the wife and daughter. Sphinx of Hatshepsut's lion body, mane head, and royal beard depicts power. Both artworks are portrayed to demonstrate calm power, a sense of order and endurance. The existing hieratic statement in the sculptures are important to royals and non-royal people alike.

There are also significant differences between the artworks. First, Sphinx of Hatshepsut is portrayed doing something he is passionate about while Nikare is represented with those people that are close to him, those he loved. Being the second female ruler ever recorded in the Egyptian, she showed great leadership skills and was passionate about the needs of her subjects. During this reign, when her country a rising world power, she helped promote art, peace and helped the less privileged in Egypt realize their dreams. In this respect, her rule can be compared to that of Elizabeth 1 of England. Both the wife and daughter in the artwork are considered to be very supportive and is shown through their proportion in relation to Nikare and their position beside him. Their proposition helps provide a feeling of comfort. Since he is seated like a king, it can be said that Nikare is supportive, powerful and an important member of the family. The second difference focuses on the composition of the two artworks. Nikare's artwork is painted limestone, and this gave the sculpture a bright and authentic look. This helped to enhance the concept of idealism because when assessed from different angles, the artwork is noticeably inequitable (Carrozzino, Marcello, and Massimo 454). Nikare's shoulder are broadened in such a manner that the torso resembles the shape of a rounded rectangle. The pectoral muscles extrude from the chest and has been further defined by the depth of his flat and fit abdomen. The limestone has further thickened the arm to depict his strength in the family and the society at large. The idea of indestructibility is also depicted via the approach utilized in creating the sculpture. Sphinx of Hatshepsut, on the other hand, was made from granite. This was one of the six granite sphinxes at Hatshepsut's mortuary temple. With the granite, the sculptor has observed the powerful muscles of the lion legs and body. The pose represents one that is attentive, guardian and calm. The tail is elegantly wrapped around the leg. The tail is not that of a lion but rather a bull which was used frequently during Hatshepsut's reign. Another difference between the two artworks is the prevailing base areas. It is evident that the statue that representing Nikare and his family has a smaller base as compared to Sphinx of Hatshepsut which has a wider base area.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, both artworks provide some useful information about the areas that they represent. There is the concept of cultural preservation, historical and religious importance that the artworks represent. They are useful for purposes of enjoyment and education, assisting the current generation to understand their history and pass it to the coming generation. Learners are able to learn that Pharaoh Hatshepsut was the second female ruler ever recorded in Egyptian history after Sobekneferu while Nikare was a granary official and had one child. They are tools and platforms that allow others to create that convincing experiences in museums. This enables virtual museums to achieve the scale of their ambitions.

Works Cited

Carrozzino, Marcello, and Massimo Bergamasco. "Beyond virtual museums: Experiencing immersive virtual reality in real museums." Journal of Cultural Heritage 11.4 (2010): 452-458.

Metmuseum.org. N.p., 2018. Web. 2 Dec. 2018.

Robins, Gay. Egyptian statues. Vol. 26. Osprey Publishing, 2001.

Schweibenz, Werner. "Virtual museums." The Development of Virtual Museums,"ICOM News Magazine 3 s 3 (2004).