Transcript Egyptian Art - Cobb Learning

Complete the Egyptian
alphabox as a table.
Egyptian Art
What kind of art did the Egyptians create?
When did the Egyptian
Civilization take place?
 The Old Kingdom
 2650-2134BC
 The Middle
Kingdom
 2040-1640
 The New Kingdom
 1550-1070
So this artwork
is anywhere
from 4650-3070
years old!
Why did Egyptians create art?
 Geographic location created a
surplus of food which allowed
Egyptians to create art
instead of hunting and
gathering.
 Strong religious beliefs also
contributed to a influx of
creating artifacts
 Fascination with the afterlife
was also a focus of much of
their artwork
 Art and artifacts were also
made to honor the Pharaoh
(king)
What kind of art did they
create?
 Architecture-Pyramids were built
as tombs for pharoahs
 Sarcophagi- Stone coffins
 Sculptures- Carvings of pharaohs’
portraits
 Paintings-These were
Actually painted, low relief
Sculptures on the walls of
tombs
Pyramids
 The pyramids were used as entombment for the dead
kings to provide protection and appropriate
transformation into the afterlife for them and their
belongings
 Originally, Egyptians built low, flat tombs
called mastabas
 These slowly transitioned into
stepped pyramids
 Lastly, turned into
the true pyramid
The Great Pyramids at
Giza
 2530-2470 BCE
 4th Dynasty
 Giza
 Some stones
weighed over 40 tons!
 The stones were
floated on rafts down
the Nile
 The largest, central
pyramid, covers 13 acres and is 55 stories high
 It originally contained over 2 million blocks of
limestone
 The limestone and capstone were later stolen off
the surface along with
the pyramids contents
 The pyramids are
astonishing in size and
mathematical precision
 The four sides are
perfectly oriented with the
four cardinal
directions
 Each side is 230 meters long
with only centimeters of difference
 The pyramids were built by slaves and paid
laborers who were faithful to their kings.
Tutankhamen Mummy Case
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1352 BCE
Gold inlaid with enamel and semiprecious
stones
The tomb of Tutankhamun contained four
gilded shrines nested one inside the other
in order of decreasing size. Inside the
innermost shrine was a red quartzite
sarcophagus which protected three coffins
(man-shaped). The first two coffins were
made of gilded wood but the final coffin
was made of solid gold. The solid gold
coffin housed the mummy of King Tut and
his fabulous golden death mask.
73”
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
His modern fame and popularity stems
from the fact that his tomb in the Valley of
the Kings was discovered almost
completely intact, and is still the most
complete ancient Egyptian tomb ever yet
found.
Ruled from age 8-18
Howard Carter found King
Tut’s tomb in 1922
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most outer shrine
linen pall
inner second shrine
inner third shrine
inner most forth shrine
granite sarcophagus
coffin
coffin
coffin
The outermost coffin
The 2nd outermost coffin
Sculptures
 Sculptors were commanded to
carve pharaoh's portrait
incase their mummified bodies
were destroyed
 The sculpture would serve as
a place for their “ka”, or soul to
live
 Egyptian sculpture is
characterized by (1)
compactness (2) symmetry of
form and (3) its block-like
shape
Queen Nefertiti
The Seated
Khafre
 Khafre (Chefren or Chephren)
Dynasty 3, c2570-2544 BCE
 Solid-Blocklike form
 Head is simplified (stylized)
 Body is idealized(perfected)
 Seated on a throne
 Example of In-the-Round sculpture
 In- the –Round sculpture
Free-standing sculpture, sculpture that
is surrounded on all sides, except the
base, by space. It is also known as
sculpture "in the round", and is
meant to be viewed from any angle
 Standing (common pose), both
have left foot forward
 Figures are sculpted in the same
height, provide a comparison of
male and female beauty.
 The stone from which they were
created still is still visible,
maintaining the block form.
 These figures were meant to
house the ka .
 This was the stereotypical pose
that symbolized marriage. Notice
how the figures are idealized and
emotionless. The artists depiction
of these two people is indicative of
the formula for depicting royalty in
Egyptian Art.
The Sphinx-66 feet tall and 240
feet long
The
Sphinx
 It has the body
of a lion and the face of a man
 It faces the sun and was thought to have been
built as a temple to the sun god.
 Stands guard over the tombs
 It was buried in the sand for many years which
helped to preserve it so that we can see it
today
Relief Sculpture and Painting
 low relief is the quality of a projecting image where the overall
depth is shallow. The background is very compressed or
completely flat, as on most coins, on which all images are in lowrelief.
 Covered the walls of tombs
 The figures are placed in
registers- a series of horizontal
bands
 Descriptive perspectivemost important figures are
shown larger than less
important ones
(to show social status)
 These paintings followed very specific rules
 Every part of the body must be depicted in the
most familiar point of view.
 Frontality
-legs, arms, and faces are in
profile but with the shoulders
and eyes seen from the front
turned toward the viewer
 Therefore the body looked
distorted
 They did this so that the “Ka”
could recognize their bodies
 Register:
the
division
of space
used to
divide
the story
of the
ka’s life.
Hieroglyphics
 Hieroglyphics (a form of picture writing) were used
to help tell a story
 A cartouche is an Egyptian nameplate
 In the early days of ancient Egypt, a cartouche was
attached to the coffins of kings and queens. As time
went on, many people hired an artist to create a
cartouche for their own coffin.
 The ancient Egyptians believed that you had to have
your name written down somewhere, so that you would
not disappear when you died.
 Today many people have golden cartouche
Necklaces made to wear
Clay Cartouche
Vocabulary
 Cartouche-Egyptian nameplate
 Hieroglyphics-Picture writing used by the
Egyptians
 Bas Relief Sculpture-A low sculpture projecting
from a flat background
 Slab- A flat sheet of clay
 Coil- A snake like roll of clay
 Score-roughing up the surface of clay with lines
 Slip- watered down clay used when adhering two
pieces of clay
2. Roll a coil
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3. Score the slab
and coil and put slip
on one
1. Roll a slab and cut
out an oval using the
template
4. Blend your
coil onto your
slab
What colors do Egyptians
use in jewelry?