The mesopotamian art refers to the artistic expressions of various peoples and cultures that flourished between the Tigris and the Euphrates, and between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf (present-day Iraq, and part of Syria), during the Ancient Age.
Mesopotamia is a word of Greek origin that can be translated as “between rivers”, and its history dates back to 6000 BC, when the first human settlements were formed, and ends in 539 BC, with the invasion of the Persian king Cyrus..
Although there were older urban settlements, the existence of Mesopotamia is assumed from the development of the so-called Uruk period, when the Sumerians founded their first city-states, around 3500 BC: Uruk, Lagash Eridu, Uma, Ur, etc..
The following 3,000 years, the different civilizations that developed there, Sumerians, Akkadians, Amorites, Gutis, Assyrians and Chaldeans, will forge kingdoms and empires, subjecting neighboring peoples and imposing religion and customs on them..
They assimilated each other, and thus empires collapsed and were reborn, while inventing the wheel, writing, calculation, and making notable advances in medicine, astronomy, in the development of irrigation systems, and in architecture..
To the above it would be necessary to add its role in the emergence of philosophy, religions and law; Hence, Mesopotamia is considered one of the cradles of civilization, and it is so important to know and appreciate what survived from its artistic and cultural manifestations.
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The diversity of peoples that dominated this region of "between rivers" for almost three millennia influenced the different artistic forms, sometimes keeping them very close to the different cults, and at other times making them more profane..
The assimilation of each religion and culture by the next that it colonized was what allowed Mesopotamian art, including mythology, to have a common thread capable of giving it cohesion throughout the centuries..
All these artistic manifestations (painting, architecture, sculpture and relief) were made with a specific function: for religious cults or the documentation of facts. Despite the very long period in which Mesopotamian art developed, we can note some constants throughout its evolution:
Monumentalism is the taste for great buildings and monuments dedicated to some divinity or to celebrate historical events.
Art in Mesopotamia is marked by straight lines and a taste for geometric and symmetrical figures..
The work of art is not valued for its aesthetic effect but for its use, the function it can have, or as an expression of political power.
Very few samples of Mesopotamian painting survive, due to the characteristic of the construction materials of the historic buildings and the conflictive history, ancient and recent, of the region (between Iraq and Syria)..
The painting had a decorative purpose to beautify the architecture or the ceramic pieces, it was not an end in itself.
The images lack perspective and used few colors, dominating blue, red and white. The size of the figures was proportional to the hierarchy of the represented, so there was no special interest in representing the objective reality of things.
The themes of conquest and worship of divinities predominate, and in addition to people, animals and monsters, geometric figures abound.
Examples of Mesopotamian painting can be found in the palace of Zimri-Lim (1700 BC, currently in Syrian territory), and the palace of Tiglapileser III in Til Barsip (800 BC, also in Syrian territory).
Sculpture and relief tend to be confused in Mesopotamian art, even when it acquires a monumental character, as in the case of Assyrian winged bulls, also called "lamassus" (700 BC): androcephalic figures sculpted in large blocks and still preserved. in major museums around the world, such as the Louvre or the British Museum.
Throughout its history there are not many large sculptural figures, as in Egypt, due to the scarcity of hard stones, but medium and small ones, in materials as diverse as terracotta, bronze, obsidian, jasper, alabaster , limestone, etc.
This turned the sculpture into a luxury product, mainly because materials from neighboring areas were used..
Mesopotamian sculpture, both Assyrian and Sumerian, reproduced robust human forms, rather chubby, with broad shoulders and strong muscles, wide eyes and bushy eyebrows, and with a rather severe aspect.
The first sculptural manifestations date back to 3500 BC. and are represented in ceremonial vessels with reliefs, such as the sacred vessel of Warka (3300 BC).
In general, the sculptures and reliefs fulfill religious functions or to exalt the important figures of the different kingdoms. Thus, the sculptures represented gods, priests, dignitaries, evil and beneficial spirits, etc..
The human figure tried to reproduce individual features, but they were intentionally disproportionate, making the head larger than the body. In contrast, the animal figures were more realistic.
The reliefs have the same characteristics as in the painting: the law of frontality (as in Egyptian reliefs), the size of the figure according to its hierarchical position, and the search for symmetry or geometric shape..
The reliefs were part of the decoration of the walls of palaces, and they told the history of the monarch, his triumphs and achievements, and generally he was presented among his courtiers, receiving tributes from the defeated peoples.
Also immense figures were carved in bas-relief that protected the walls of the cities, fantastic animals (the mušḫuššu), luck of protective spirits.
Cylinder seals could be a separate chapter. They were cylinders of stone or other materials, such as lapis lazuli, glass, obsidian, amethyst, among others, where motifs representing the gods were engraved.
These stamps were used to identify its owner. In addition to the reasons, a small text was written (in cuneiform script) where it was said that the owner was such a person, the son of another, and a servant of X god. In the tombs, in addition to numerous valuables, one or two stamps were left.
They were engraved in reverse relief, designed to roll on fresh and soft clay bricks and thus leave a testimony of their owner. They also served to seal jars and doors, as well as accounting. This indicates that they fulfilled administrative functions.
Since they could be small, they were also a personal object. Sometimes they functioned as amulets, in which case they fulfilled a magical protective function. That is why many times they had gods or protective geniuses engraved.
Cylinder seals appeared approximately 5,500 years ago, in the Uruk period; Although the oldest seal was found in Iran, in Sharafabad, it was mainly in the Sumerian city of Uruk where they were abundant, and in Susa, another main city of that period.
In the sculpture, in addition to the winged lions, small sculptures stand out, such as the statuette of the Prince of Gudea (2120 BC), the statuette of a bearded man (3300 BC) and the statue of Kurlil (2500 BC)..
Reliefs such as the stele of Naram Sin (2569 BC), the representation of the goddess Inanna (1800-1750 BC) or the hunt of Ashurnasirpal (c. 860 BC) are famous..
The function of ceramics is closely related to the growth of cities and to the surplus in agricultural products: suitable containers were also needed for the transport of food and drink, or of various materials, and for their conservation and storage..
It is remarkable the fact that it also played an important role in long-distance trade, since all the products were transported in ceramic vessels..
Its importance is also key, because through ceramics pieces for worship were made, such as glasses, plates or special containers to preserve the clay tablets..
It was a technique of great aesthetic beauty, used above all to cover large surfaces such as royal tombs or walls, such as those that appear on the Ishtar gate of Babylon.
The technique was based on the firing of the mud bricks by applying a varnish -which could be made of lead or other substances-; this made the external face of the brick look vitreous or glazed.
It gave more strength and resistance to adobe, and it was intended to adorn and beautify the walls of important temples, also giving them the possibility of withstanding the passage of time..
The mosaic is characterized by representing an image or figure by means of small pieces of ceramic (also stone, glass or other materials), of variable color and size, and that combined form a set.
Among the ceramics, the Assyrian ceramic rhyton (1860-1780 BC) stands out, which comes from Kultepe and represents a lion. The Ishtar Vase, from Larsa, or a three-legged jug from Lower Mesopotamia.
Likewise, numerous ceremonial ceramic jugs, plates and vessels from different periods, and which have survived to this day. And among the mosaics are some pieces found in royal tombs at Ur.
The materials available in the region between the Tigris and the Euphrates did not favor large-scale architecture; there was neither wood nor stone in large quantities to build.
Civil constructions, therefore, were made of reed, which was abundant in swampy regions, and adobe - sun-dried mud bricks - was used for public buildings and to support dwellings..
The bricks were also joined with soft clay. However, these materials degrade over time, and that is one of the reasons why a large part of Mesopotamian architecture was lost..
To strengthen the bricks, in addition to exposing them to the sun, ovens were necessary, where they were baked. Mesopotamian architecture gave great importance to the temple and the palace, but also to urban dwellings and defense systems, such as the walls.
They were religious and economic centers. Inside they could have spaces for cultivation or herds of animals, warehouses for crops and workshops to make utensils.
The priests were the ones who organized the temples, and for this they hired shepherds, artisans and peasants, who in return received payment in land to cultivate. The temples were on one level, with various courtyards that could be arranged in a sequence of maze-like rooms, or arranged in a row surrounding a courtyard..
Each divinity had its temple, and there the ceremonies related to the cult of each one were carried out..
It was a monumental building dedicated to some divinity; it was related to the temple. Its use was also for astronomical observation.
It consisted of various plants one above the other, where the upper ones were progressively smaller and taller, and were painted in various colors. Its shape was pyramidal and it was ascended by stairs.
They were the most representative buildings of Mesopotamian architecture, and Marduk's ziggurat in Babylon has remained for posterity as the possible Biblical Tower of Babel.
The houses were built with reeds that, bent as an inverse parabola, served as porticoes. The structure was domed and covered with mud or reed mats. Many of them were also built with adobe, and could be square or circular..
As the Mesopotamian region, especially to the south and center, was swampy, none of its buildings had foundations.
It is one of the great Mesopotamian contributions to architecture. They used arches and vaults without formwork, and they landscape the bricks so that when they were placed they would not fall, or they also filled in the space between two walls until the vault was finished..
This created long and narrow spaces. They glazed the bricks for large buildings and made mosaics with different colors. The light was zenith (central) since the bearing walls did not allow the windows.
But they also built with pillars and beams. The beams were supported on a bearing wall, as well as on interior wooden pillars, which were used to delimit the perimeter of the patio. As the structure was repeated, the building was created and the roof was made of adobe.
Among the outstanding works are the ziggurat of Marduk and the Ishtar gates, both in Babylon; the palace of Sargun II in Dur Sharukin or the complex network of channels between the Tigris and the Euphrates.
Also noteworthy are the river ports of some cities, such as Ur, and the bridges that linked, for example, one side of Babylon to the other..
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