Art of Ancient Egypt

Continuity, Spirituality and the Immortal Soul

OverviewLongevity• Ancient Egyptian civilization lasted for more than 3000 and we don’t see much change in the

style or function of their artwork

• While today we consider the Greco-Roman period to be in the distant past, it should be noted that Cleopatra VII's reign (which ended in 30 BCE) is closer to our own time than it was to that of the construction of the pyramids of Giza.

• It took humans nearly 4000 years to build something--anything--taller than the Great Pyramids.

• Consistency & Stability• Egypt’s stability is in stark contrast to the Ancient Near East of the same period, which endured

an overlapping series of cultures and upheavals with amazing regularity.

• The earliest royal monuments, such as the Narmer Palette carved around 3100 B.C.E., display identical royal costumes and poses as those seen on later rulers, even Ptolemaic kings on their temples 3000 years later.

WHY SO CONSISTENT!!??

• Artistic style governed by decorum (a sense of what was ‘appropriate’),

• This is why their art appears extremely static—and in terms of symbols, gestures, and the way the body is rendered, it was. It was intentional.

• To the Egyptians their consistency was viewed as stability, divine balance, and clear evidence of the correctness of their culture.

What are the facts? (F)

Artist: Trades PersonPatron: UnknownTitle: Palette of King Narmer Date: 3,000 BCEPeriod/Style: Early DynasticSize: 2’ 1”Location / findspot: Egypt

What is the medium and technique? (M)

Slate, bas relief

What is the artworks content / subject matter? (SM)

Narmer

Hathor

Kings name

Horus

Felines

WHY WAS IT CREATED (CA)

1. PHYSICAL LOCATIONIt Is a decorative makeup plate – location unknown – perhaps for display in a home

2. HISTORICAL EVENTSRecord of the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt- which took place over several centuries but is shown as a single great event

3. CONCEPTS AND IDEASDivine Kings – Pharaohs

Pharaoah is supreme and protected by the gods

Glorification of the Pharaoh as responsible for the unification and protection of Egypt

How is the subject matter visually represented / presented? (FA)

Narmer

Hathor

Kings name

Horus

- Narrative device: registers

- Hierarchical scale = power of the pharaoh. He stands above the conquered

- Twisted perspective

- Swiftly and easily slays his enemy – become a standard pictorial formula for Egyptian power

- He is solely responsible for the victory

- Hathor (sky goddess) presides over her son’s triumph

- Horus, the takes captive the hieroglyphic for Lower Egypt

How is the subject matter visually represented / presented? (FA)

Felines

- Intertwined necks of the cats may symbolize Egypt’s unification

- Multiple perspectives – dead are seen from above while Narmer is seen from profile

- Kings superior rank indicated by size and isolation

- Lower register with the bull symbolizes king’s superhuman strength

- Narrative devices: Registers don’t tell a sequential narrative but are instead symbolic of the pharaoh's triumph and divine status

THE SPIRITUAL WORLD AND RITUAL IN ART AND LIFE

• Fertility of the Nile offered prosperity and security• The Egyptians wanted to carry their prosperity and security with

them into the afterlife • ART FUNCTIONED AS A CONDUIT THAT ENSURED A

COMFORTABLE AFTERLIFE • They believed that artistic depictions had an impact beyond the

image itself—tomb scenes of the deceased receiving food, or temple scenes of the king performing perfect rituals for the gods—were functionally causing those things to occur in the divine realm.

• If the image of the bread loaf was omitted from the deceased’s table, they had no bread in the Afterlife; if the king was depicted with the incorrect ritual implement, the ritual was incorrect and this could have dire consequences. This belief led to an active resistance to change in their artistic depictions.

Old Kingdom SculptureWhat are the facts? (F)Artist: Trades PersonPatron: Khafre, PharaohTitle: Khafre enthronedDate: 2,520 BCEPeriod/Style: Old KingdomSize: 5’ 6”Location / findspot: Pharaoh’s Valley temple

What is the medium and technique? (M)

Diorite (transported 400 miles), Subtracted method

What is the artworks content / subject matter? (SM)

Portrait of Khafre (pharaoh) on his thrown protected by Horus

WHY WAS IT CREATED (CA) 1. PHYSICAL LOCATIONHoused in the Pharaoh’s temple which served as a burial tomb, Not meant to be seen by the living

2. Patron Pharaoh

3. CONCEPTS AND IDEASDivine Kings – Pharaohs

Believed that a person possessed a ka –A type of soul – when a person died their ka lived on

For the ka to live securely the body had to remain intact = mummification

Statues in tombs also provided a dwelling place for the ka and secured permanence for the identity of the deceased = immortality FUNCTION: Funerary Object

How is the subject matter visually represented? How do the visual qualities support the function? (FA)

Bilaterally symmetrical

Rigid and upright

Idealized body and perfect features – consistent with theDivine nature of the king

His compact and still form (no movement) radiates serenity

The form manifests the purpose: to last an eternity

No movement = frozen in time, attached to the throne and rock

Bilaterally Symmetrical body

Horus extend his protective wings over his head

Wearing the royal false beard and nemes headdress

Lotus and papyrus plants on throne = unified Egypt

What are the facts? (F)Artist: Trades PersonPatron: UnknownTitle: Date: 2,500 BCEPeriod/Style: Old KingdomSize: 1’ 9”Location / findspot: Necropolis in Saqqara Egypt

What is the medium and technique? (M)

Carved and painted limestone

What is the artworks content / subject matter? (SM)

A scribe

WHY WAS IT CREATED (CA)

1. PHYSICAL LOCATIONNecropolis

2. CONCEPTS AND IDEAS

Believed that a person possessed a ka –A type of soul – when a person died their ka lived on

For the ka to live securely the body had to remain intact = mummification

Statues in tombs also provided a dwelling place for the ka and secured permanence for the identity of the deceased = immortality FUNCTION: Funerary Object

How is the subject matter visually represented? (FA)

Small, Lifelike, naturalistic and individualizedfeatures – but not a true portrait, he is a type

He has a sense of feeling and personalityThat the Pharaoh’s sculpture is lacking –Indicates the he is not divine

No throne, more relaxed pose but he is serene,Which is in line with the function of the Sculpture as a dwelling place for the ka.

Holding paper – indicates his job as a scribe

Fat belly indicates wealth and comfort of his Position

Sagging skin indicates age

Middle KingdomWhat are the facts? (F)Artist: Trades PersonPatron: Sensurett II (pharaoh)Title: Sensuret II (pharaoh Date: 1,860 BCEPeriod/Style: Middle KingdomSize: 6’ 6”Location / findspot: Egypt

What is the medium and technique? (M)

Carved stone

How is the subject matter visually represented? (FA)

Breaks convention with style of Old KingdomPharaoh statues

Posture is still compact and body idealized, hisFacial features are naturalistic and expressive

Pessimistic expression with drooping lines around the mouth, heavily lidded eyes, shaded brow

What is the artworks content / subject matter? (SM)

Sunsurett II - Pharaoh

WHY WAS IT CREATED (CA) 1. PHYSICAL LOCATIONNecropolis

2. PatronPharaoh

3. Historical EventsEstablishment of Middle Kingdom puts end to period of anarchy

Fought brutal military campaign in Nubia – never secured total control

Established central government in Egypt with better success

Meaning/Function: Depiction of of a determined ruler marked with anxiety. Communicates the mood of the era.