Introduction

The theme of this exhibition is How different emperors/leaders of different communities displayed their own power and influence, or the power and influence of their religion/beliefs through sculpture. Emperors, leaders, kings and queens as well as religious leaders has since the beginning of day been portraying their own power through different means.

Leaders and emperors have been using sculpture for many different things throughout the ages. In ancient Rome, the emperors made sculptures of themselves so their people would be able to recognize them throughout their empire. The sculptures were idealized, so the emperors would look almost god like, but also like themselves so the people would be able to recognize them. Sculptures were also made to mark their territories, for decoration in temples and displays of religion.

In ancient Greece, the emperors did not only have statues made of themselves, but they would also have gigantic architectural statements to their power. They also made architectural landmarks for gods, for example the Parthenon, which is a temple to the god Athena the goddess of Athens.

In Egypt, Pharaoh’s build temples for themselves, filling them with statues and art representing their own power and the power of god. The Pharaoh Hatshepsut built a gigantic temple against a wall of mountains, creating an instant authority when standing in front of it. She also filled the temple with both sculptures and statues of herself and of gods.

In Asia, where Buddhism was a wide religion, they made huge sculptures of buddha, representing his power. The picturing of buddha in Buddhism is very common, whether it is through painting, sculpture or statues.

In India, they made statues of gods from their religion, representing the power and influence of their gods. Hinduism has many million god they worship to, and it’s very common to make statues and sculptures of them.

The point of this exhibition is to show you some examples where leaders showed their power and influence or the power and influence of their religion through sculpture. These examples are picked from different places in the world, and from different time periods.