When I set out to pick a piece of art for this assignment, there were a few things I was looking for. I wanted to write about a piece that showed great detail, style, and meaning. When I saw the Votive Figure of Fortuna, I noticed that it had all of these things. The sculpture was truly a strong depiction of its time and era, created in Greece in 100 B.C.- 100 A.D. from terracotta clay. The formal elements that I will discuss that bring this piece to life are line, texture, pattern, and balance.
             What makes the Votive Figure of Fortuna so interesting is the intricacy it initiates for such a small and very old sculpture. The figure is around 2" wide by 7" high and around 2" deep. This detail is maintained through its contrasty and abrupt line patterns with intense angles and line variation. These lines are used by the artist to bring to life the woman's flowing gown. All of the folds are created, ripple by ripple through deep cuts in the terracotta clay.
             The artist created rich texture through his use of lines and thick gouges in the clay. The line next to the line, side by side, interrupted by another set of lines at sharp, 90-degree angles also helps to evolve this emotion of great texture. The gown appears to be very fabric even though the sculpture is simply hardened clay. This is a great effect by the artist and definitely one of its strongest elements. The patterns that are created with the detailed lines are also very important to the overall outlook of this piece. These lines flow one into the other, creating great contrast and depth. Shadows almost are fully developed with the line patterns because of the artist's compositions in the pattern placement. Again the pattern usage of these lines is key to this effect.
             Another aspect of this sculpture that I noticed that one might tend to overlook, is the compositional balance of the figure. This woman is presented to you in a frontal stance, showing importance, power, an...