Ancient Egyptian Artwork

The Four Egyptian Canons 1. Above is behind 2. Twisted Perspective (shoulders are squared the viewer) COMPOSITE VIEW 3. Hierarchical in size (size denotes importance) 4. Introducing ground line to organize space CUBIT FORMAT: the cubic format for the human figure resulted from the Egyptians' use of a grid

system, and the technique of carving inward from the front, top and side views

Miniature Figures: one had 365 mini figurines for one servant for one year had role call each day, so each servant would shout out instead of the master Napolean Bonaparte invaded Egypt - Brought Rosetta Stone (founded by Jean Francois Champollion Sean-pawl-yawn) o Three languages: Hieroglyphics, Modern Egypt, Greek o A name repeated 8x; framed by a cartouche BA (individual conscience, personality; separated from body at time of death and free to travel tomb during day, but returned to the mummy during night) - BA promoted the advancement of embalming and mummification - Difference with KA? Ka existed separately from the body, it was the eternal spirit/ life force Crowns of Ancient Egypt - Bowling Pin: Upper Egypt, southern Egypt I bowl against the current, towards the Nubians - Curly Q Seat: Lower Egypt, the crown of the delta Embalming and Mummification - (Three?) Types: Internal organs removed OR leave the organs and body as is - placed 7 natron filled linen strips at a time - Canopic Jars: Contained mummified remains AND Gods as animals on jars to project organs Symbols - Horus and a cluster of papyrus stocks and a snake= pharaoh is in residence - Horus= god of divine kingship, lord of the sky - Snake= combra= power= symbol of the pharaoh= URAEUS - Nemes cloth and ceremonial beard Pre-Dynastic and Early Dynastic Period 1. Women Mummy from the New Kingdom a. Museum of Cairo b. Well preserved, hair and eyelashes intact 2. Mastaba of Ti at Saqqara a. paintings were GENRE-LIKE, naturalistic in depiction; Typical representations of the ordinary life b. Anxious cow bc shepard if carrying off her calf, servants foraging water c. Modified twister perspective: shoulders are semi-turned d. The fording of the Nile was a metaphor for the passage to the afterlife. These reliefs combine stereotypical poses for humans and animals with unconventional postures and anecdotal details. e. Mastaba: chapel next to the serdab, shaft that leads to

the burial chamber 3. Panel of Hessy-Ra a. Scribe holding reed and ink, in the Mastaba of Ti b. Scribes had social mobility, could become advisors, ministers 4. Ivory, small Pharoah a. Early dynastic period b. Deteriotated, realistically portrayed in the chin, ears stoop c. Artist is replicating what he sees HIERANKONPOLIS (hire- kom-polis) 5. Men, Boats and Animals a. Predynastic wall painting on plaster (fresco seco) b. Oldest Egyptian mural painting c. Historical subject manner: the war and unification of Egypt d. Introduces various ground lines (lacks depth) e. Hierarchial in proportion (canons of painting, size denotes importance) 6. Palette of Narmer/ Menese a. Executed in Slate b. Historical narrative c. Ground malachite, deep green eye makeup held in the intewtwining of the animals necks (evil enters the body through the eyes) d. Multiple registers artist is applying a ground line (organizes the space), hierarchical in size, twisted perspective e. The narrative i. Sandal bearer, most powerful official, follows closely behind ii. Bare feet= standing on holy ground iii. Pharaoh is striking his enemy with a malice iv. Horus holds the head of the enemy with 6 papyrus stocks in the back (6000 prisoners) v. Stacked enemy heads ABOVE IS BEHIND (E canon) vi. Dead bodies in the below register (distinct ethnicity) f. FLAT because 1) placed on a ground line 2) stacking 3) TP Old Kingdom

MASTABA STEPPED PYRAMID BENT PYRAMID PYRAMID MORTUARY TEMPLES

- All were solid, some were hollow (Cheops) - The ben-ben, the emblem of the sun, Re. The sun's rays were the ramp the Egyptian pharaohs used to ascend to the heavens after their death and rebirth. 7. BENT PYRAMID OF SNEFERU (SP?) AT DAHSHUR a. 9 degree change BC in fear it might collapse 8. STEPPED PYRAMID OF ZOSER AT SAQQARA a. Architect= IMHOTEP b. only stone FIRST TIME not in mudbricks c. using stone on a MONUMENTAL SCALE d. stacked mastabas of diminishing size e. Founded in the Necropolis of Zoser (city of the dead) i. Funerary precinct f. Petrifies woodworking techniques into stone i. hinges on the windows were only decorative, wood hinges replicas

g. Petrification of mudbrick: build in small stones 9. ENTHRONED ZOSER (SEATED PORTRAIT OF ZOSER) a. Stone carved by stone by Imhotep i. Dynasty 3= chiseled with stone tools b. CUBIT: measurement system as dictated by a carving manuel i. carve one side at a time using a grid ii. explains why figures look so block like c. Wears nemese cloth with a headdress of a cobra; attached beard made out of metals and precious jewells d. Found within a burial chamber, serdab e. FORMAL appearance i. throne figure is melted, bound together with the backing (PLINTH) ii. remains frontal due to the PLINTH iii. not carved in the round

Pyramid of Gizeh cased by polished limestone (CASING STONE),

colossal architecture not isolated tombs but parts of funerary complexes with o valley temple o a mortuary temple adjoining the pyramids 10. PYRAMID OF MYCERINUS (MENKURE) a. red granite casing / made of pink granite b. smallest; most expensive and newest c. plus his three queens pyramids 11. PORTRAIT OF MYCERINUS AND KHAMERENEBTI a. Not separate from plinth b. not sculpture in the round c. faces of the elite: wife took on husbands face with feminine qualities d. Minimal incisions, tunic, shallow carving, suggested torso e. Locked knees, walking but hips are aligned horizontally= unnatural 12. PYRAMID OF CHEOPS (KHUFU) a. HOLLOW; suspended burial chambers (initial design was supposed to be solid, but plans changed, some parts are hollow and some are solid) b. Kings burial chamber, shaft leads to the queens chamber c. two airshafts, subterranean remnants of initial plan 13. PYRAMID OF CHEPHREN (KHAFRE) a. Built on a raised platform b. Guarded by the GREAT SPHINX (lion w/ human head): Nose fell off; carved as a giant nodule of sandstone (from an outcropping of stone) line with buried boats and a small adjacent temple c. Only pyramid still left with the casing stone 14. PORTRAIT OF CHEPHREN WITH HORUS (KHAFRE ENTHRONED) a. Now using STONE TOOLS b. Diorite stone (purple veining tint) c. incised with knotted vegetal ornaments of the lotus (N- floats on the river) and papyrus= unification d. Idealized emphasis on face and upper torso i. incised pecks, minimal muscles ii. some pleating on tunic, but just surface details e. Repetitive lines in the wings of horus and headdress

f.

Sculpture is backed with the PLINTH, fused body with seating area rigidity= eternal stillness

15. Serb (small stone) of Cubit System a. Not working from nature when applying cubit system 16. PRINCE AND PRINCESS a. Gizeh, Rahotep and Nofret (4th Dynasty) b. Seated on thrones, figure is fused with backing c. One arm on chest (ceremonial pose) d. Womans skins are lighter and man is darkercharacteristic of Egyptian couples e. inlaid eyes f. Some parts are naturalistic, while others are not (hair puff, nails) 17. STATUE OF JUDGE KAY a. Scribe, alert eyes, bureaucrat, attentive pose b. papyrus script on lap c. cross legged with tunic stretched and being used as a table d. webbing between legs, not fully carved out e. Inlaid eyes with pink veined shell= artist intended to show bloodshot eyes 18. Prince Ankh-Haf Sculpture: Gizeh; an actual portrait, higher status is more formal, so official portraiture is more realistic shows emotion; wood and true portrait of an individual

MIDDLE KINGDOM
Burial Chambers change= rock cut tombs, cheaper and more economically efficient - for example: at the valley of the kings - find a natural FISSURE in the rock and chisel away 19. Mentuhotep a. Funerary figure placed inside mortuary temple; Unified Egypt during 1st intermediate period b. Unproportional feet c. osiris posture (crossed arms in an X) d. wears DELTA CROWN 20. Life and Desk Mask of Sesostris III: a. new emotion and personality, realism b. old kingdoms faces looked formalized, impassive; Sesostriss face appears distraught, brooding 21. Rock cut tomb at BENI HASAN Painting within a RC Tomb: newly birthed calf, loosened TP 22. Seated Scribe: new posture, knees brought to chest, wrapped in tunic as a surface for H; sculpture was pushed into a nook of a morturary temple

NEW KINGDOM
23. Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshesput at Deir El-Bahri a. Monumental Pylon temple b. Built on Senmut c. Faces WEST d. Adorned/housed with.., i. painted reliefs recounting her divine birth and significant achievements ii. sculptures 1. as pictured, queen as a pharaoh with false beard ( Hatshesput with Offering jars) e. Pier columns (square shaped) f. A ramp lined with sphinxes lead up to terraces, than a second ramp to a portico (originally had a statue of the queen), then behind this was a rock up temple dedicated to Amun g. Organic Arhictecture: Two terraces and works with topography i. Zoological Garden with Aviary ii. Botanical garden with myrrh trees (sacred to god Amun) h. ON AXIS WITH 24. Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak (5 miles away) a. contains an artificial lake associated with the primeval waters of the Egyptian creation myth and a pylon temple with a bilaterally symmetrical axial plan b. The hypostyle hall is crowded with columns, carved in sunken relief i. 66 feet shafts ii. Palm capitals and open lotus capitals 22 ft in diamter (organic flower motif) iii. Between lintel and capital is a square block (appears HOVERING and LEVITATING) a roof of stone slabs carried on lintels. 1. The two central rows of columns of the hypostyle hall are taller than the rest 2. Creates a taller central section = a clerestory that admitted light to the interior through windows c. Columns built in DRUMS (setting them on on top of each other) d. Amun= father of monarch at Karnak e. ON AXIS WITH 25. Temple of Khonsu at Luxor a. Connected with Amun-Re by a line of sphinxes b. The idol of Amun was taken in the sacred BARQUE up the nile from Karnak to Luxor where the marriage between Amun and Mut i. Amun=supreme god of E pantheon; Depicted anthropomorphically as a blue pharaoh; Father of the monarch ii. Mut= anthro. as a slim female with a feathered headdress in the shape of a vulture or lion iii. Khonsu= moon god, name means wanderer of the path of the moon across the sky; baboon head c. THEBAN TRIAD***

26. Sculpture of Senmut a. Posture= New Kingdom Scribe b. Wears ceremonial beard c. Scribe, lover, minister of finance 27. Senmut with Princess Nefrura, from Thebes a. New Kingdom block statues exhibit an even more radical simplification of form than do Old Kingdom statues. Here, Hatshepsut's chancellor holds the queen's daughter in his "lap" and envelops her in his cloak 28. Faade of the Temple of Ramses II a. Abu Simbel, Egypt, Dynasty XIX b. ca. 12901224 BCE c. Ruled for 67 years d. Sandstone rock cut mortuary temple/tomb e. Aswan dam flooded, so was relocated 100feet up in 1986 f. Four rock-cut images of Ramses II dominate the facade of his mortuary temple. The colossal portraits are a dozen times the height of a man, even though the pharaoh is seated g. Interior has giant atlantids (male statue columns) 29. Interior of the Temple of Ramses II Inside Ramses II's mortuary temple are 32-foot-tall figures of the long-reigning pharaoh in the guise of Osiris, carved as one with the pillars, facing each other across the narrow corridor Pylon temple (cult temple) - Pylon: 2 Trapezoidal sloped walls; entrance - Peristyle: columns but no roof, open air - Hypostyle: columns with roof - Sanctuary

Amarna Art Period

greater realism, curvilinear, more natural, freer ; suggestions of movement; anti-cubic aesthetic
From Amenhotep IV to Akhenaten (religious reformer) - MonoTheism: worship the solar deity RA o portrayed as a sun disk o a god that is not represented anthropomorphically or zoopomorphically - Closed the priesthood temples of Amun - Moved the campital to middle of Egpyt - Akhenaton initiated a religious revolution, and his art is also a deliberate reaction against tradition Tel-el-Amarna - became the workmens city - forced people to move by suggesting their mummies will be taken to Amarna - built on virgin dessert, because it was untouched - rooms were organized when/where the run rose - streets were watered down to clear the dust - two story buildings to alleviate the dust from the bottom floor - lasted 18 years than abandoned - blocks from the city were used as FILLER material in other public works - the E tried to erase Amarna

30. Portrait Head of Queen Tiy a. Nubian princess b. husband= Amenhotep III c. mother Akhenaten d. Carved from yew, ebony wood: hard i. dense wood from Africa ii. probably to match the queen's complexion e. Delicate, sensual f. Uraeus would sit on the gold netting of her hair g. Smaller than life size h. Remodeled during her son's reign to remove all references to traditional deities. 31. Life Mask of Akhenaten a. Simple and reveals the naturalisms of Akhenaten before Amarna art period 32. Queen Nefertiti a. In Berlin (represents the acquisistions of artifacts by foreign powers for museum purposes) i. More obelisks in Britain than in Egypt b. Limestone c. Not Egyptian crown (possibly near east crown) d. Elongated, unrealistically curved neck; to hold the weight of the crown e. Carved by Thusmose or BEK IWTY 33. Unfinished Sculpture of Queen Nefertiti a. The Beautiful One b. reveals the cubit system outlines c. modeling of form: light and shadow 34. Sculpture of Nefertiti (missing head) a. Diaphanous garment: feeling of transperancy b. Sensual, indicates movement in slight shift of the hips and shoulder c. Fabric is taunt over breasts d. Knot below breasts reveal tension 35. Sculpture of Akhenaten a. androgynous image may be an attempt to portray the pharaoh as Aton, the sexless sun disk b. effeminate body c. tenuated abdomen d. narrow shoulders e. wide hips f. tunic reveals the navel g. Elongated neck that would not hold the weight of the head h. Exagerated and elongated cranium i. Osiris pose; holds the implements of the high office (crook and flayle) 36. Stellae of Akhenaten and Nefertitti a. Sunken relief: flushed surface with deep contours b. Self contained pyramid composition (this is how the artist organized the space) i. Apex of the pyramid= sun disk ii. Rays are the extending hands

c. Things that identity it within the period: i. sensuality and intimacy as seen in their glances (informal, kids are playing, within house) 1. kids also look like mini adults ii. unproportional body parts: enlarged cranium, elonganted and curved necks, pudgy abdomenomes iii. Uraeus on sun disk 1. Solar god extends its rays (hands at the end) to the family; giving life divinity to Akhentan d. Cupped hands at the end of the rays, sun god Re e. An intimate look at the royal family in a domestic setting. Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and three of their daughters bask in the life-giving rays of Aton, the sun disk 37. The Daughters of Akhenaten a. Enlarged cranium b. Depiction of a private moment c. Softened TP, turned toward each other d. Looks like little adults 38. Death mask of Tutankhamen a. From the innermost coffin in his tomb at Thebes i. Founded by Howard Carter and Lord Conapron (?) ii. Badly excavated: in 6 monthes b. Dynasty XVIII; ca. 1323 BCE c. Gold with inlaid gems; gold leaf and lapis lazuli d. His mummy shows a bash on his head; married to Akhenatens daughter; converts back to polythesism 39. Innermost coffin of Tutankhamen a. Tutankhamen's fame today is due to the discovery of his treasure-laden tomb b. His mummy is encased in three nested coffins i. The innermost one, made of gold, portrays the pharaoh as Osiris 40. Painted chest, from the Tomb of Tutankhamen a. Tutankhamen is here represented triumphing over Asian enemies. The artist contrasted the orderly registers of Egyptian chariots with the chaotic pile of foreign soldiers who fall before the king. Random ** The creature with crocodile head,

body of a lion, and hind quarters of a hippo, who devours those unworthy of the afterlife= Ammut