ART OF ANCIENT EGYPT
CHAPTER 3
Egyptian organized society is dated from around 3000 BC to its collapse under Persian rule in 500 BC. Most historians divide this civiliation into three distinct eras: the Old, Middle, and New Kindgoms, Within each of these eras, there were a number of dynasties. Dynasties are blood-lines of particular pharoahs or kings. The Egyptians were polytheatic in their beliefs except for one period during the New Kingdom that the Pharoah Akhenaten tried to impose monotheism onto his people. This was short-lived, however. All of the general characteristics that I am going to give to you about Egyptian art were constant throughout Egyptian history, except for the rule of King Akhenaten's (Amarna Period) when he imposed naturalism and in art. He was a believer of "one god" called Aten. His queen was the beautiful Nefertiti and they had only daughters, one of which married King Tut, the boy Pharoah who followed Akhenaten to the throne. After Akhenaten's death, though, traditional conventions were once again employed by artisans. He had no male children, so a half-brother, Tutuankhamen, was proclaimed Pharoah. He was only about 9 years old. This period of Egyptian history is very important, so read it carefully.
The Egyptian people believed in a spirit (their soul) that they called "ka". After their physical death, the "ka" could live eternally if a proper burial, crematian, and tomb were provided. Their entire lives were directed and controlled by this belief in "life after death." The Pharoah was the people's spokesperson to the gods. He was worshipped as "one with the gods". There may be other kings under the control of the Egyptian Pharoah, but there was only one "pharoah." It is also a masculine name. There were three queens who ruled Egypt, the most famous being Queen Hatshepsut in the New Kingdom. She proclaimed herself "pharoah." During ceremonial rituals, she actually wore the symbolic beard of the pharoah! The Great Sphinx is one our "Unsolved Mysteries." It is perhaps the first example of portraiture in history. A portrait is a visual representation of a specific individual. There is a video called The Mystery of the Sphinx that was taken from the television series narrated by Charleston Heston. It was very informative and interesting.
Ti Ameny Ne, an Egyptian mummy with image, x-rays and information.
Egyptian architecture was monumental. Surviving examples would be temples, and tombs. The tombs were built to protect the person's remains (mostly upperclass and royalty) and to immortalize their memory. It was intended to be a place for the "ka" on his voyage throughout eternity. The first tombs were called "mastabas" (Mastaba of Ti). Then "step-pyramids" (King Zoser's Step Pyramid), and then "pyramids" (King Khufu and King Khafre's Pyramids). All three of these were found in the Old Kingdom. However, after only a few days, the tombs were robbed and the remains disturbed. This caused a change in the traditional tomb-type during the Middle and New Kingdoms. They built "rock-cut tombs" into the mountains far up the Nile River called the Valley of the Kings and Queens. King Tutuankhamen's tomb is a good example of this. In the September 1998 issue of National Geographic, there is an article on a rock-cut tomb near King Tut's that was the burial site of all of Ramsses II's sons (KV5 in the Valley of the Kings). I highly recommend reading this article and visiting this site on the Internet. King Ramsses II's Temple that is on our test is a "mortuary temple." He was not buried here, but rather it is a monument to his memory as well as a place that he conducted religious ceremonies to his patron gods. Queen Hatshepsut also had a mortuary temple that was discussed on your CD disk. Monuments became a testimony to society's need to communicate with itself. It was also a reminder of the role and fate of the individual in the world--a world controlled by power (individual power and the power of the unknown.)
Take a virtual tour of Zoser's Step-Pyramid.
Egyptian sculpture was closed-in-form, stylized and idealized, rigid and stiff, and in-the-round as well as in relief (sunken-relief and bas-relief. They painted the surface of the sculpture with tempera and encaustic paint after applying a gesso primer. The higher the rank of the individual, the more durable the stone and more formal the pose. As in The Scribe, you will note that they tended to move toward naturalism on lower ranking individuals. They carved gods, individuals of high rank, and historical and narrative episodes. Know the importance of the Palette of King Narmer (drawing), The Great Sphinx, the bust of Queen Nefertiti.
Egyptian painting was stylized and two-dimensional with a strong contour line outlining the shapes. They used twisted perspective to better describe the figure. The face is shown in profile, the eye frontally, the torso frontally, but the hips and feet turned to the side. The larger the size, the more important the individual. Paintings were on tomb walls, mummy cases, etc. It was symbolic and narrative. They used tempera paint and encaustic techniques to paint on plaster walls. Hieroglyphics were found on both paintings and sculpture. Hieroglyphics are the Egyptian symbols of writing. On the CD, note the importance of the Rosetta Stone.
Articles and Images of Stone Technology and the Sphinx and Temples.
Articles on the Sphinx Dating Controversy.
Articles on Hieroglyphs and Papyrii.
Design and Contruction of the Pyramids.
The Pyramids
Explore the Pyramids with NOVA.
Inside story of the Pyramids with present excavations with NOVA.
Pyramid of Chephren (Khafre)
Mark Millmore's Ancient Egypt
Theban Mapping Project.
Tour Egypt by cities with information on the present and past.
Tour Le Louvre Museum's Egyptian collection by clicking on Art and Collections. Click on the Sully wing. Then click on each floor (on the right side of the page) that there are rooms shaded in magenta. Finally, click on each individual magenta room to see a couple of selections from that room.
Updated 9-1-99