Transcript egypt
Egypt Old Kingdom Middle Kingdom New Kingdom Artist as Magician New Vocabulary Ka Palatte Mastaba Pylon •Civilization in Egypt organized earlier, but first organized in dynasties 3000 BC-the start of the old kingdom •Pharaoh was supreme ruler and a god- basis of all civilization and of artwork •Knowledge of civilization rest solely in tombs •Preoccupation with the cult of the dead (like Neolithic) but no fear of the spirits of the dead •Each person must provide for the happiness of his afterlife- would reproduce daily life in tombs for their Ka (spirit) to enjoy- blurring of line between life and death •Tomb was like afterlife insurance •King Narmer united upper and lower Egypt •Palette is first known work of historical art (as opposed to prehistoric) •Symbols include: Papyrus, falcon, bare feet, lower figures Palette of King Narmer, c. 3000 BC Other Side•appears barefoot again and marches to inspect decapitated enemies. •Pharoh is strong bull trampling enemy and knocking down a citadel- bulls tail is a part of pharoh garb for 3000 years •Center section does not convey a specific meaning •Both panels have a strong sense of order •Artist works for clarity first •Only 3 views- frontal, profile, from above •Strives to show pharaoh in most complete way- but this prevents any feeling of movement Tomb Architecture-relates only to Pharaoh and high officials Step Pyramid of Zoser, 2600 bc Built on a mastaba, burial chamber deep underground with a shaft linking it to the pyramid, meant to serve as a great monument Step Pyramid of King Zoser, 3rd Dynasty, 2600 bc Part of a huge funerary district with temples and other buildings, scenes of religious celebration before and after death Columns •Egyptian architecture began with mud bricks, wood, reedsImhotep (first artist whose name was part of recorded history) used cut stone masonry •style was similar to less enduring material- columns are always engaged rather than free-standing- just like bundles of reeds used to look like•now columns had an expressive purpose rather than just functional •tapering fluted columns were designed for harmony and elegance, not just to hold things up •Papyrus columns are linked with lower Egypt Great Pyramids at Giza, 4th Dynasty •Burial Chamber is in the center of the pyramid rather than underneath •Originally covered in smooth stone •Funerary district is much more organized than Zoser- surrounded by mastabas and smaller pyramids The Great Sphinx, Pyramids at Giza •Next to pyramids (closest to Chefron) •65 feet tall •Damaged during Islamic times, but had features of Chefron •End of the period of huge scale monuments Chefron from Giza •Made of carved of extremely hard stone called diorite •shows enthroned king with the falcon of the god Horus •Shows the artist’s cubic view of the human figure- created by drawing the front and side view of the figure on the block of stone and then working inward until the views met • figure is immobile and firm- the body is impersonal but the face has some individual traits •Standing (common pose), both have left foot forward, yet they are not moving forward- •same height, provide a comparison of male and female beauty Mycerinus and Queen Women were always shown as lighter in color than men Rahotep and Queen Most poses were seated or standing- another pose added in the 4th century bcthe scribe pose- cross-legged on the ground- scribe is a high court official- most scribes were sons of pharaohs. Alert expression in face, individualized torso- flabby and middle-aged Old kingdom also invented the portrait bust- whether it was an abbreviated statue or had some greater significance(I.E. the Neolithic separating the head from the body) is unknownshows skull and flesh Seated Scribe Tomb paintings (non-royal)landscapes were popular background is very active •Ti is much larger than others- shows importance •Ti isn’t engaging in activity- he’s watching- also shows importance •Action is going on after death- body does not respond, but the spirit appreciates the activity •Scenes are not nostalgic, they describe life cycle activities Ti Watching a Hippo The Middle Kingdom •Collapse of centralized pharaonic power at the end of the sixth dynasty= Egypt entered political disturbance for 700 years• power by local overlords who revived rivalry of the north/south •after 12th century, invaded by Hyksos, of Asiatic origin and ruled for 150 years until 1570 BC •Portraiture- faces are troubled rather than serene- have selfawareness- very realistic physically and psychological- Portrait of Sesostris New Kingdom... •500 years following Hyksos- 18th-20th dynasties are a golden age of Egypt•extended borders into Palestine and Syria –period known as the empire- tremendous architectural projects-centering on new capital, 500 yea rs foll owing Hyksos - 18 -20 dynas ties are a 3 gold en age of Egyp t- extended borders into Palestine and Syria –period known as the empir e- tremendous archit ectural Thebes projects-centering on new capit al, Thebes divinit y o f kings now connec ted wit h god Amun who was fused wit h Ra (sun god) and •divinity of kings now connected with god Amun who was fused with was the ulti mate deit y- priests of Amun g rew in wealt h and in power and threatened of phar aoh- Amenho tep IV tried to gain more power by dec la ring the ex ist ence of Ra (sun god)power and was the ultimate priests Amun grew in only on e god , the sun disk Atenchanged h isdeityname to Akhena ten, closedof the A mun and moved the capit al to central E gypt - his attempts at monotheism did no t wealth and intemples, power and threatened power outlast his reign (1365-1347 BC)- coun try b ecame based on pof riestspharaohun til •Amenhotep IV tried to gain more power by declaring the existence of only one god, the sun god Aten- changed his name to Akhenaten, closed the Amun temples, and moved the capital to central Egypt•his attempts at monotheism did not outlast his reign (1365-1347 BC)country became based on priests until until taken over by Greek and Romans •New Kingdom art covers many styles th th rd •Built 1480 BC against rocky cliffs, dedicated to Amun•linked by ramps and colonnades to a small chamber deep in the rock•great example of architecture within natural setting- ramps echo shape of cliffs Temple of Hatshepsut, 1480 BC •More imperial palaces built •Dedicated to Amun, supreme God •An example of the form of most New Kingdom Palaces •Entrance is a Pylon •Closed off by walls •Faces the Nile Temple at Luxor, 1390 BC •Columns made much heavier than needed How has style changed? Mai and his Wife How has the society’s vision of beauty changed? Akhenaten- done 10 years later Owes his fame to the undisturbed contents of his tomb!!