Art of Ancient Egypt
Continuity, Spirituality and the
Immortal Soul
Overview
Longevity
• 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 Person
Patron: Unknown
Title: Palette of King Narmer
Date: 3,000 BCE
Period/Style: Early Dynastic
Size: 2’ 1”
Location / findspot: Egypt
What is the medium and
technique? (M)
Slate, bas relief
What is the artworks
content / subject matter?
(SM)
Kings name
Hathor
Felines
Horus
Narmer
WHY WAS IT CREATED (CA)
1. PHYSICAL LOCATION
It Is a decorative makeup plate –
location unknown – perhaps for display
in a home
2. HISTORICAL EVENTS
Record 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 IDEAS
Divine 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)
Kings name
Hathor
- 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
Narmer
- Horus, the takes captive the hieroglyphic for
Lower Egypt
Horus
How is the subject matter
visually represented /
presented? (FA)
- 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
Felines
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 Sculpture
What are the facts? (F)
Artist: Trades Person
Patron: Khafre, Pharaoh
Title: Khafre enthroned
Date: 2,520 BCE
Period/Style: Old Kingdom
Size: 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 LOCATION
Housed 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 IDEAS
Divine 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)
Rigid and upright
Idealized body and perfect features – consistent with the
Divine 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
Bilaterally symmetrical
Lotus and papyrus plants on throne = unified Egypt
What are the facts? (F)
Artist: Trades Person
Patron: Unknown
Title: Date: 2,500 BCE
Period/Style: Old Kingdom
Size: 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 LOCATION
Necropolis
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 individualized
features – but not a true portrait, he is a type
He has a sense of feeling and personality
That 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 Kingdom
What are the facts? (F)
Artist: Trades Person
Patron: Sensurett II (pharaoh)
Title: Sensuret II (pharaoh
Date: 1,860 BCE
Period/Style: Middle
Kingdom
Size: 6’ 6”
Location / findspot: Egypt
What is the medium and
technique? (M)
Carved stone
What is the artworks content / subject
matter? (SM)
Sunsurett II - Pharaoh
How is the subject matter
visually represented? (FA)
Breaks convention with style of Old Kingdom
Pharaoh statues
Posture is still compact and body idealized, his
Facial features are naturalistic and expressive
Pessimistic expression with drooping lines around
the mouth, heavily lidded eyes, shaded brow
WHY WAS IT CREATED (CA)
1. PHYSICAL LOCATION
Necropolis
2. Patron
Pharaoh
3. Historical Events
Establishment 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.