
Hierarchical proportion is a technique used in art, mostly in
sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
and
painting
Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
, in which the artist uses unnatural
proportion or
scale to depict the relative importance of the figures in the artwork.
For example, in
Egyptian
''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
times, people of higher status would sometimes be drawn or sculpted larger than those of lower status.
During the
Dark Ages, people with more status had larger proportions than serfs. During the Renaissance images of the human body began to change, as proportion was used to depict the reality an artist interpreted.
Gallery
File:Narmer-Tjet2.JPG, The Narmer Palette - obverse
The obverse and reverse are the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''obverse'' ...
side, Early Dynastic Period of Egypt, about the 31st century BC
File:Victory stele of Naram Sin 9062.jpg, Victory stele
A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...
of Naram Sin, the Akkadian Empire
The Akkadian Empire () was the first known empire, succeeding the long-lived city-states of Sumer. Centered on the city of Akkad (city), Akkad ( or ) and its surrounding region, the empire united Akkadian language, Akkadian and Sumerian languag ...
in ancient Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
, 2350 - 2000 BC
File:BD Weighing of the Heart.jpg, The Weighing of the Heart from the Book of the Dead of Ani, 19th dynasty of the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt, c. 1250 B.C.
File:Cancuenpanel3.jpg, Panel 3 from Maya
Maya may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (East Africa), a p ...
city Cancuén portraying the ruler Tajal Chan Ahk, 8th-century
File:Clm 4453 fol 24r Detail Herrscherbild.jpg, Otto III
Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was the Holy Roman emperor and King of Italy from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu.
Otto III was c ...
from the Gospels of Otto III
The Gospels of Otto III (Munich, Bayer. Staatsbib., Clm. 4453) is considered a superb example of Ottonian art because of the scope, planning, and execution of the work. The book has 276 parchment pages (334 by 242 mm, 13.1 by 9.5 inches) an ...
, Reichenau Abbey in southern Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, late 10th or early 11th century
File:Autun St Lazare Tympanon.jpg, Last Judgement
The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism.
Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...
by Gislebertus in the west tympanum of the Autun Cathedral
The Cathedral of Saint Lazarus of Autun (), commonly known as Autun Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Autun and a Monument historique, national monument of France. Famous for its Cluniac inspiration and its Romanesque sculptures by Gisle ...
in France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, 1120 - 1146.
File:Duccio maesta1021.jpg, Maestà of Duccio, Siena
Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...
, Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, 1308 – 1311
File:Hugo van der Goes 004.jpg, Portinari Altarpiece, Flemish painter Hugo van der Goes
Hugo van der Goes ( – 1482) was a Flemish painter who was one of the most significant and original Early Netherlandish painters of the late 15th century. Van der Goes was an important painter of altarpieces as well as portraits. He introduced i ...
for the church of the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova
The Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova (i.e. in Italian language, Italian) is the oldest hospital still active in Florence, Italy.
History and artistic profile
Origins
The hospital was founded in 1288 by Folco Portinari, the father of Beatrice Por ...
in Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
in Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, c. 1475.
File:Brooklyn Museum - Zumurrud Shah Takes Refuge in the Mountains - overall.jpg, Zumurrud Shah takes refuge in the mountains (India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, ca. 1570, illustration to Hamzanama)
File:Brooklyn Museum - Battle of Karbala - Abbas Al-Musavi - overall.jpg, Battle of Karbala
The Battle of Karbala () was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 Hijri year, AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad caliph Yazid I () and a small army led by Husayn ibn Ali, th ...
, Imam Husayn's half brother Abbas Al-Musavi in focus, Isfahan
Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...
, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, late 19th - early 20th century
See also
*
Art movement
An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific art philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a specific period of time, (usually a few months, years or decades) or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defined ...
*
Creativity techniques
Creativity techniques are methods that encourage creative actions, whether in the arts or sciences. They focus on a variety of aspects of creativity, including techniques for idea generation and divergent thinking, methods of re-framing problems, ...
*
List of art media
Media, or mediums, are the core types of material (or related other tools) used by an artist, composer, designer, etc. to create a work of art. For example, a visual artist may broadly use the media of painting or sculpting, which themselves hav ...
*
List of artistic media
Media, or mediums, are the core types of material (or related other tools) used by an artist, composer, designer, etc. to create a work of art. For example, a visual artist may broadly use the media of painting or sculpting, which themselves have ...
*
List of art movements
*
List of most expensive paintings
This is a list of the highest known prices paid for paintings. The record payment for a work is approximately United States dollar, US$450.3 million (which includes Commission (remuneration), commission) for the work ''Salvator Mundi (Leonardo), ...
*
List of most expensive sculptures
A list is a Set (mathematics), set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of t ...
*
List of art techniques
*
List of sculptors
References
Citations
Bibliography
*''Artforms'' by Preble, Preble, Frank; Prentice Hall 2004
External links
'Gifts for the Gods: Images from Egyptian Temples a fully digitized exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries, which contains material on hierarchical proportion
Artistic techniques
{{art-technique-stub