Unknown Artist, Shiva Nataraja, Art of Asia, India 11th century. Bronze material 34 ½ * 28 ¼ * 9 ¾ in. Dallas Art Museum, Dallas, TX.
Formal Analysis
The time when I entered the Dallas Museum of art, I was so amazed by their artwork and paintings. It was tough work to choose one subject for my art paper, but there was one sculpture that caught my eye; it was Nataraja of Shiva (11th century) from Ancient Southeastern Art located on the 3rd floor of the museum. The main message of this sculpture is focused on the idea of the boundaries of the cosmos and the destruction and rebirth of the world.
This paper will employ a close visual analysis of this sculpture and describe how the visual elements of the work related to its main theme. In my opinion, this sculpture is very beautiful, and I was so surprised to find it in the museum. As I was growing up in Nepal, I always saw this sculpture in the temples, stores, and other people’s homes and even in my own home. I always wondered “why does Shiva have four arms? Why is he standing the way he is standing?”
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Nataraja is a Sanskrit word, which is the oldest language of India. “Nata” means dance and “Raja” means King; the king of dance. This sculpture is from Chola Dynasty, circa the 11 century. The artist of this work is unknown. The height of the sculpture is 28 7/8in and its diameter is 22 1/4in. I expected the sculpture to be smaller than it was because I haven’t seen a sculpture as big as this one before. So, it was shocking to find it at that big height. At that time (Chola Dynasty, circa 860-1279) art and religion were very closely interrelated in India and all art sculptures or objects have some spiritual ideas and religious messages in them. In this case, the main message is the boundaries of the cosmos; demolition, and reincarnation of the world. There is a round circle around the Hindu god Lord Shiva made up of bronze. In the middle, we have Lord Shiva dancing, as he is represented in his tripe role as Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer. Most of the lines are curved in a circle shape and, on the bottom, we have the base to hold the sculpture. They are very smooth. Looking at the sculpture is very smooth, dynamic because the base is horizontal to hold the sculpture on the top which has been made a curved circle. Throughout my visit, I did not notice any high values area though I noticed some low values area in the light brown golden color bronze metals made up of copper. The gallery light highlights the beauty of the sculpture, drawing attention to the people in that area. The gallery light has been placed from the back of the sculpture to make it even more interesting. The object appears very solid as it is made up of metal, unlike their counterparts which are hollow cast. By talking with the people from the art museum, I got to know that it is very heavy as it is covered with slips of clay, leaving openings at the top and the bottom. Since I am from Asia, I have touched Lord Shiva Nataraja's sculpture and I felt like a heavy metal that is warm in touch. The object is made in such a way that there is a base and circle to hold the sculpture in the middle. The circle holds the two hands and whereas the legs are attached to the base. The work done by the artist is symmetrical because it features the same shapes and colors on the art; the face, and body parts.
Cultural Context
It's essential to remember that the bronze Shiva as Lord of the Dance ('Nataraja' importance move or execution, and raja meaning ruler or master), is a hallowed article that has been removed from its unique setting—truth be told, we don't know where this specific model was initially revered. In the close spaces of the Florence and Herbert Irving South Asian Galleries in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Shiva Nataraja is encompassed by other metal statues of Hindu divine beings including the Lords Vishnu, Parvati, and Hanuman. It is anything but difficult to end up ingested in obscurity calm of these displays with its momentous gathering of awesome figures, however, recall that this specific statue was planned to be portable, which clarifies its moderate size and sizeable roundabout base, perfect for lifting and raising onto a shoulder.
Summary
Like the other arts and sculpture Lord Shiva features a metal sculpture and a round circle around him which is said to be the circle of fire. My experience in the Dallas Museum of art was very wonderful and enjoyed full, looking at the arts I would love to go back there to see some of the arts more.
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