Masterpiece Story: Wheatfield with Cypresses by Vincent van Gogh
Wheatfield with Cypresses expresses the emotional intensity that has become the trademark of Vincent van Gogh’s signature style. Let’s delve...
James W Singer 17 November 2024
Striding Lion, 604-562 BCE, Processional Way, Babylon, Iraq, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Detail.
Striding Lion is a masterpiece of Mesopotamian art with monumental size and composition. It symbolizes the strength of King Nebuchadnezzar II and the ferocity of the goddess Ishtar. It evokes the power of the Neo-Babylonian Empire with its bold lines, vibrant colors, and technical creation. It joined the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria, in 1930 where it has remained a cornerstone of the Mesopotamian collection.
Striding Lion, 604-562 BCE, Processional Way, Babylon, Iraq, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria.
Historical Context
The reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II is considered a golden age of Mesopotamian culture. He ruled from 604 to 562 BCE during the Neo-Babylonian Empire. King Nebuchadnezzar II was the most renowned king of his era due to his extensive exploits recorded in the biblical Book of Daniel and his widespread artistic patronage. Under his rule, Babylon became one of the greatest cities of antiquity. It claimed the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Tower of Babel as its two most famous landmarks. Within this rich architectural and artistic culture, Striding Lion was created to adorn Babylon’s Processional Way.
Striding Lion, 604-562 BCE, Processional Way, Babylon, Iraq, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Detail.
General Composition
Striding Lion measures 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 meters) high and 7 feet 7 inches (2.30 meters) wide. It is a basso-relievo or low relief sculpture featuring a Babylonian lion composed of yellow, brown, and red bricks against a blue background. Every glazed brick is individually formed to create the lion and background when assembled together. Therefore, the lion and background are not separate elements cemented together but rather structurally and artistically integrated into one unified image.
Striding Lion, 604-562 BCE, Processional Way, Babylon, Iraq, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Detail.
Architectural Context
The roaring animal once adorned the Processional Way that linked Babylon’s Ishtar Gate to the city’s central temple. The 250-meter Processional Way was flanked by towers at regular intervals that featured walking lions. These lions were symbols of Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess of beauty, love, and war. She is comparable to the Greek goddess Aphrodite but with a belligerent personality streak.
Processional Way, 604-562 BCE, glazed clay bricks, Babylon, Iraq, Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Germany.
Modern Reconstructions
In contrast, the more famous Ishtar Gate was adorned with dragons and bulls symbolizing Marduk, the Mesopotamian god of thunderstorms. A section of both the Ishtar Gate and the Processional Way are reconstructed and now are displayed at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany. They both attest to the magnificence of Nebuchadnezzar II’s Babylon, the Neo-Babylonian Empire, and the original context of Striding Lion.
Ishtar Gate, 604-562 BCE, glazed clay bricks, Babylon, Iraq, Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Germany.
Bibliography
1.
Adam Augustyn, “Ishtar“, Encyclopedia Britannica, August 28, 2019.
2.
Helen Gardner, Fred S. Kleiner, and Christin J. Mamiya, Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, 12th ed. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005.
3.
“Ishtar Gate”, Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
4.
“Lion Passant”, Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
5.
“Processional Way from Babylon with Brick Reliefs of Walking Lions”, Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
6.
“Wall Piece with the Relief of a Striding Lion”, Collection, Kunsthistorisches Museum. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
Get your daily dose of art
Click and follow us on Google News to stay updated all the time
We love art history and writing about it. Your support helps us to sustain DailyArt Magazine and keep it running.
DailyArt Magazine needs your support. Every contribution, however big or small, is very valuable for our future. Thanks to it, we will be able to sustain and grow the Magazine. Thank you for your help!
James W. Singer is an art historian and fine art photographer. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from the University of Florida. He later moved to Paris, France. He currently writes “Masterpiece” articles for DailyArt Magazine.
Joshua Lambert
Recommended
Masterpiece Story: Young Bacchus by Mary Beale
Mary Beale is a rarity: a prolific, well-documented, successful, 17th-century woman artist. Her painting of Young Bacchus perfectly illustrates how...
Catriona Miller 10 November 2024
Masterpiece Story: Statue of Liberty
On a small island just out of New York City’s harbor, Lady Liberty greets anyone arriving in the United States from the Atlantic Ocean. Over the...
Anastasia Manioudaki 7 November 2024
Masterpiece Story: Zeuxis Selecting Models for Helen of Troy by Angelica Kauffman
We’re all Angelicamad here! To celebrate the history painter extraordinaire Angelica Kauffman, let’s discuss her take on one of antiquity’s...
Gabrielle Stecher 11 November 2024