Visual Arts

ART PROCESS JOURNAL

EGYPTIAN ART

Student: Teacher:
Darija Dizdarevic Sandra Zuko

06.November.2022
Process
I started off my work by searching the topic. I found relevant infromation about ancient
Egypt; their monuments, ancient buildings, religious beliefs, every day life etc. The popular
view of life in ancient Egypt is often that it was a death – obsessed culture. That's why
mummification was practiced throughout most of early Egyptian history. I found it
interesting, so I continued my research and found some pictures to use as my inspiration.

Picture 1: Insipration1

Picture 2: Inspiration2

1
Egyptian civilization - Religion – Mummification
https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/egypt/egcr06e.html
2
Newsela, https://newsela.com/read/elem-hist-egypt-mummies/id/27173/
 Picture 3: Inspiration3

After finding some pictures I could use as an inspiration, I made a sketch by combining some
parts into one.

3
Shutterstock, https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/ancient-egypt-mummification-process-concept-
next-1511089133
 Since everything was perfectly drawn, I used my sketch as a real drawing. Next thing I did
was soaked my paper in coffee. I had trouble doing this, because the paper was thick, so it
was difficult to stain it. After dipping it for a couple of times I managed to get it right. I tried
using salt too, but after the paper dried, majority fell off.

The last thing left to do was paint my drawing. The paint I used wasn't the best quality, so I
had to do multiple layers. It was difficult to be percise since my drawing conatined a lot of
deatils, so I used markers for it and to outline.
This was my drawng before I added more of some details and before I went over it with more
paint.

This is my final Egyptian art.

Story

The ancient Egyptians believed in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. This
belief was rooted in what they observed each day. New life sprouted from grains in the earth,
and the moon waxed and waned. The body had to be preserved through mummification and
given a properly furnsihed tomb with everything needed for life in the afterworld.

The practice of mumification began in Egypt in 2400 B.C. It was believed that only
pharaohs could attain immortality. Around 2000 B.C., attitudes changed, however: everyone
could live in the afterworld as long as the body was mummified and the proper elements were
placed in the tomb. But since mummification was expensive, only the wealthy were able to
take advantage of it.4 Usually, the pharaohs were mummified and buried in eleborate tombs.
Members of the nobility and officials also often received the same treatment, and
occasionally, common people.

First they inserted a hook through a hole near the nose and pulled out part of the brain. Then
they made a cut on the left side of the body near the tummy to remove all iternal organs. The
organs were left to dry and then placed inside canopic jars, while the heart was placed back
inside the body. They rinsed the body with wine and spices and then covered the corpse with
salt for 70 days. After 40 days the body was stuffed with linen or sand to give it a more
human shape. After 70 days the body was wrapped from head to toe in bandages and placed
in sacrophagus (a coffin).5

The Egyptians mummified animals as well as humans -- everything from bulls and hawks to
ichneumons and snakes. Some have been found in large quantities, while others are rare. This
practice reached its height during the eleventh and twelfth centuries B.C. in Thebes, where the
present-day cities of Luxor and Karnak are located. The purpose of mummification was to
keep the body intact so it could be transported to a spiritual afterlife.

Sources
4
Egyptian civilization - Religion – Mummification,
https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/egypt/egcr06e.html
5
Mummification Step by Step • A Step by Step guide to Egyptian Mummification • MyLearning,
https://www.mylearning.org/stories/a-step-by-step-guide-to-egyptian-mummification/220?
Pictures

Egyptian civilization - Religion – Mummification

https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/egypt/egcr06e.html

Newsela

https://newsela.com/read/elem-hist-egypt-mummies/id/27173/

Shutterstock

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/ancient-egypt-mummification-process-concept-next-
1511089133

WWW pages
Egyptian civilization - Religion – Mummification

https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/egypt/egcr06e.html

Mummification Step by Step • A Step by Step guide to Egyptian Mummification • MyLearning

https://www.mylearning.org/stories/a-step-by-step-guide-to-egyptian-mummification/220?