Transcript egyptian art

EGYPTIAN ART
Barbier
AVI10
Ancient Egypt

The culture of ancient Egypt
developed along the banks of the
Nile River
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Ancient Egypt was divided into two
regions: Upper and Lower Egypt
until approximately 3100 BCE
(They were united by a powerful
Pharaoh name Menes).

The Nile was the principle means of travel for the people
of ancient Egypt.

They developed various types of boats, including cargo,
passenger, funerary, and naval vessels, to journey on
the river.

The Nile river also served as a source of food for the
people of ancient Egypt and was crucial to agriculture in
the region.
Social Pyramid

The Pharaoh or
Egyptian rulers, were
worshipped as gods
and held in complete
authority over the
kingdom.
Pharaoh
Nobles,
aristocracy, priests
Skilled craftworkers,
painters, sculptors, merchants
Farmers, domestic servants
(There were very few slaves)
Egyptian Clothing

Style did not change much
between Old Kingdom and New
Kingdom.

Women of the lower class wore
sheath-like dresses. Men of
those classes wore short cloth
kilts or, in the case of sailors,
loincloths of leather.

The well-to-do classes was the
same as the poor; however, they
could afford more expensive
clothing.
Black wigs had always been a
standard item for Egyptians.
Gods and Goddesses
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The Egyptians also
worshipped hundreds
of different gods and
goddesses.

Many of the gods are
represented by
animals.
Anubis, Lord of the
underworld
Afterlife

Egyptians believed in life after
death and as a result they
preserved the bodies of the
pharaohs in preparation for the
afterlife.

A person’s favorite possessions
would be placed with them in the
tomb to let the mummy be
prepared for the afterlife.

Although coffins and sarcophagi
(coffin made of stone or gold) did
a pretty good job of protecting the
mummy, the greatest safeguard
against bodily damage was the
tomb itself.
Mummification

The entire process of
mummification took 70 days to
complete.

The stomach, intestines, liver,
and lungs were removed and
preserved by drying them in a
special salt called natron.

Once thoroughly dried, the
organs would be put into
separate containers called
canopic jars.
Egyptian Canopic Jars
Egyptian Tombs

Egyptian artists decorated
temples and tombs according
to very strict rules set forth by
the priests.

The rules required that each
part of the body be shown
from the most visible angle.

The heads, eyes, arms, legs,
and feet are shown in profile.

The shoulders, however, are
shown from a frontal view.
Hieroglyphics

English is based on 26
characters—letters.

Ancient Egyptian writing uses
more than 2,000 hieroglyphic
characters.

Each hieroglyphic represents a
common object in ancient
Egypt.

Hieroglyphics could represent
the sound of an object or an
idea associated with the
object.

A modern type of hieroglyphic writing
would be a rebus.

A rebus is a picture puzzle that can be
“sounded out” by reading the sound
symbolized by the pictures.
Answer: I love you
Egypt

Egyptian art can be divided into three main
categories:
Old Kingdom (2686 -2150 BC)
Middle Kingdom (2100 – 1700 BC)
New Kingdom (1500-1085 BC)

Each kingdom is further divided into dynasties.
(A dynasty was a period during which a single
family provided a succession of rulers).
Old Kingdom
(A period of anarchy and divided rule)

This pyramid was built by
Imhotep for King Zoser.

It was a solid stone
structure of six huge
steps rising over twenty
stories in the desert air.

It was the first huge
stone structure built on
earth.
Step Pyramids of Djoser, Saqqara,
(2680 BC)

The Great Pyramids were built by
three kings (Khufu, Khafre,
Menkaure).

Hundreds of thousands of men
constructed these pyramids (and
many died during its construction).
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The stones for these pyramids
were floated on rafts across the
Nile valley (some of the stones
weighed over 40 tons).
The Great Pyramids, Giza
(2530-2470 BC)
Khufu’s pyramid was the
tallest structure in the
world, until modern
skyscrapers (covers about
13 acres and is over 55
stories high).

the relative positions of stars and
pyramids match each other perfectly.
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The Great Sphinx, a
figure 240 feet in length,
carved from the rocky
ledge, guarded the Great
Pyramids.

It had the body of a lion
and head of Chefren
(name of a pharoah)
The Great Sphinx, Giza, (2550 BC)

Sculpted using low relief
(figures are close to the
background).

King Narmer
commissioned this work.
It shows King Narmer
conquering all of Egypt
(Narmer is much larger
than the other figures).

The artist has used
pictographs (symbols) as
a way of writing.
Palette of Narmer, (3150 BC)
* This palette was made of slate
and it was used for grinding
pigments for eye shadows.

This sculpture is cut from a
single block of slate.
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It is 56”(142 cm high).

Arms are rigid, faces look
straight ahead, and each foot is
slightly forward (frontal pose).

The sculpture is not an accurate
depiction of the king and queen
(idealized bodies).
Mycerinus and His
Queen, (2470 BC)

This sculpture was carved
from limestone and painted.

It is 18 ½” (47 cm) high.

This sculpture was painted
for added realism.

The poses are frontal and the
figures are stylized.
Katep and His Wife,
(2300 BC)
Middle Kingdom
(Time of law, order and prosperity)
Architecture:



During this period architecture
shifted away from pyramids to
the construction of funerary
temples.
These were designed to hold
the mummies of the rulers.
Part of the building would be
cut into the cliff.
Art:

Art continued to flourish and
craftspeople still held an
honored position in society.

They carved wood into figures,
boats, weapons, etc.

These carvings were then
painted to create an illusion of
reality.
New Kingdom
(Kind of a “Golden” Age)

Part of the building was
cut into the cliff and part
was built outside
(following Middle Kingdom
style).

The queen spent most of
her reign constructing this
temple (she strapped a
false beard to her chin and
wore men’s clothing when
she visited the site).
Funerary Temple of Queen
Hatshepsut, (1480 BC)

It consisted of 134
columns, which create
a forest-like feeling.

There are 26 rows of
columns just across
the front alone.

The central columns
were about 69 feet
high.
The Hypostyle Hall, (1530 BC)

Rameses II ruled for
sixty-seven years.

He had a multitude of
statues of himself placed
throughout the land.

His temple at Abu Simbel
is the most famous

Four figures of Rameses
are carved directly out of
the standing cliff.
Temple of Rameses II, (1257
BC)

Nefertiti was Akhenaten’s wife.

Her name roughly translates to
“the beautiful (or perfect) woman
has come”.

This portrait is delicate and
sensitive, showing the sculptors
awareness and knowledge of the
structure of the human head.

This sculpture was left abandoned
in the artist’s studio after the
death of the king.
Nefertiti, (1360 BC)

This is a funerary sculpture.

Image of Akhenaten is not so
idealized, since he has a visible
belly.

Akhenaten ruled for 17 years
and during his reign he
declared a single new supreme
god in Aten (THE SUN).

Akhenaten then declared
himself Atens’s representative
on earth and a god himself.
Akhenaten and his Family, (1350 BC)

Akhenaten’s successor
was his nine-year-old
relative Tutankhaten
who later changed his
name to Tutankamen.

Even though he only
ruled for nine years, he
is Egypt’s most famous
king because of the
wealth of objects found
in his tomb.
Mask of King Tutankhamen,
(1352 BC)
Slide Comparison #1
Slide Comparison #2