EGYPTIAN ART

EGYPTIAN ART
3100 BCE - 1085 BCE Ancient Egypt was isolated from the rest of the world (protected from enemies) and abundant in its food supply Egypts situation allowed an independent culture and artistic style to arise Ancient Egyptians held a strong belief in the afterlife - the subject and purpose of most Egyptian art forms Their art remained unchanged for 3,000 years

Terms to know
Frontal (frontality):
In sculpture: facing forward In painting: upper body/torso face forward, legs arms, and head face sideways (profile)

Register: Horizontal Bands of images used in painting Descriptive perspective: More important people are bigger than those less important Stylized: means something is simplified, not detailed or fully accurate

EGYPTIAN ART

ANCIENT EGYPT
- Pyramids at Giza - Nile river

EGYPTIAN ART Palette of King Narmer (both sides), from Hierakonpolis. c. 3150 3125 BCE, slate

A ceremonial palette created to commemorate the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by the Upper Egyptian King Narmer.
The palette depicts the ancient Egyptian king (center) smiting an enemy. The piece marked an early example of a trend in Egyptian art to glorify the king.

EGYPTIAN ART

The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops in Greek) 2530 BCE

Largest pyramid: covers 13 acres and 55 stories high Originally covered with polished limestone to reflect the sun Burial chamber of the Pharoah (king) is in the middle of it. Great engineering required to protect the chambers from the giant slabs of limestone

Probably required 4000 workers; 2,300,000 limestone blocks and 23 years of labour

EGYPTIAN ART

Cheops, Mycerinus and Chephren pyramids

Greek names for pyramids

The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops in Greek) 2530 BCE

The Pyramid of Menkure (Mycerinus in Greek) The Divine Pyramid c. 2460 BCE Khafre's Pyramid (Chephren in Greek, Khufu's son), The Pyramid which is the Place of Sunrise and Sunset, c. 2500 BCE

EGYPTIAN ART

King Khafre seated Fourth Dynasty H = 120 cm (47 1/4 inches) Egyptian Museum, Cairo

King Menkaure (Mycerinus)and His Queen Fourth Dynasty H = 139 cm (54 3/4 inches) Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

EGYPTIAN ART Queen Nefertiti. c. 1360 BCE, Limestone

Key Points: Painted limestone Created under the rule of King Akhenaten (her husband): he preferred realistic art and therefore encouraged a temporary loosening of artistic conventions The artist studied human anatomy by making molds and sculpted this bust to perfection
* Queen Nefertiti and her husband are known for changing the religion in Egypt from polytheistic to monotheistic (one god, Aten)

EGYPTIAN ART

Scribe 5th Dynasty H = 49 cm. (19 3/8 in.) Egyptian Museum, Cairo

Anubis (Jackal) Tomb of Tutankhamen New Kingdom Stone, gold, silver and wood

EGYPTIAN ART

Ceremonial Chair King Tutankhamen 18th Dynasty

Gold Funerary Mask of Tutankhamen 18th Dynasty Obsidian, gold, glass, turquoise, carnelian, lapis lazuli

EGYPTIAN ART

Jewellery of Sat-Hawthor 12th Dynasty Gold, feldspar, carnelian, lapis lazuli

Gold Coffin of Tutankhamen 18th Dynasty Gold, glass and semi-precious stones

EGYPTIAN ART

Nakht and His Wife (1425 BCE) Fresco

This is a funeral wall painting

Descriptive perspective: shows that Nakht and his wife are most important Some small figures stand in registers (Follows formula for depicting the human figure)

EGYPTIAN ART

Ramses II Smiting Enemies 19th Dynasty Painted limestone

Fowling In The Marshes 18th Dynasty c. 1350 BCE

EGYPTIAN ART

Tomb of Ramses II (1257 BCE), sandstone

Temples/tombs built out of cliff sides to protect them from thieves 4 Figures of Ramses, each 20 meters high : was Pharoah for 67 years

Descriptive perspective in carving

EGYPTIAN ART

Tomb of Ramses II (1257 BCE), sandstone

Head of Ramses II The Egypitan Museum, Cairo