First Critical Thinking Project Study Group #3 Page 1 of 4 Stephanie Himmler Katie Hall Bridget Kohlhaas Joshua Lloyd Robin Martin Roy Pearman Title Stele of Itetioqer and Family
Work Type Wall engraving Date 2040‐1980 BC Material painted limestone Location Southern Upper Egypt Style Period Middle Kingdom, probably Dynasty 11 Description Full View Collection The Image Gallery Define the style Egyptian art is made of three characteristic components including stylized art, varied symbolism, and conceptual style. The artists who created work during this period in history followed guidelines set by society. Egyptian society valued continuity in all aspects of life and based, in part, their cultural beliefs on the flooding of First Critical Thinking Project Study Group #3 Page 2 of 4 Stephanie Himmler Katie Hall Bridget Kohlhaas Joshua Lloyd Robin Martin Roy Pearman the Nile River. The continuity of this flood pattern was essential to their survival and greatly influence the art produced during this period. (Stockstad, page 50). The style of art from this period was based upon a predetermined set of rules. The Egyptians did not value individuality and it was expected that when an artist created a piece they followed these rules. An example of one of these rules was the use of a formula called Cannon of Proportions. This was used by an artist when painting a portrait of a ruler, and enabled the artist to create an ideal image of the human form. When painting, an artist was not to be concerned with a realistic portrayal, instead they were to focus on what the concept of a ruler represented. This usually meant that the ruler was to be portrayed as powerful and strong. Stockstad, pages 53, 54). The artist was encouraged to create a conceptual idea of an image and covey what it symbolized. The form that represents the significance of the image is coded into a style that is repeated to ensure that the meaning will always be evident. (Art 101 Study Guide‐Unit III, Egyptian Art). You can compare several different statues against our wall relief to recognize that it is Egyptian style. By looking at statues such as Khafre, Menkaure and the queen, Pepy II and his mother Queen Ankhnes‐
Meryre, or Hatshepsut, one can identify these as Egyptian art. This is evident based on the style of all four statues. All represent a concept of the individual, one that symbolized power, strength, and continuity. Even if an individual had never studied the history of Egyptian civilization, the art they left behind could tell their story. Through this art, one can envision a society that was powerful, valued an afterlife, and respected a society that worked together. Through this knowledge we can better relate our wall relief to the Egyptian styles of the above works of art. (Stockstad, pages 59‐61, 70). Apply definition of style: This piece of artwork from Ancient Egypt shows various stylistic characteristics. The most obvious characteristic of this piece of art is that is appears that there are inscriptions. This piece of work also displays hieratic scale and/or symbolic alteration. The two dominant figures are shown bigger than the other figures shown to the right of them simply because they are of greater importance to society. Another characteristic of this piece of art of this time of the Ancient Egyptians is that is showed daily life and display everyday scenes. This wall relief also shows hieroglyphs. They identify the figures and they symbolize higher meanings. It also appears that the Ancient Egyptians may have used Encaustic, or hot wax to color in the inscriptions. This wall relief contains great characteristics of style and gives us a lot of information on the type of art the Egyptians were used to. Twisted perspective is seen with the four people in the work of art. Twisted perspective shows poses that would almost be impossible in real life, but is intended to represent the figures in a manner where their important characteristics will stand out. Tombs were often decorated with pieces like this and other reliefs and paintings. Most of them are very symbolic and religious, and can also represent everyday events. They certainly provide us with a lot of information about Egyptian culture. The hieroglyphics and numerous symbols all create meaning to the work of art. The person who created this paid great attention to detail and color. (Stockstad, page 52‐54, 80; Art 101 Study Guides‐Unit III, Egyptian Art). First Critical Thinking Project Study Group #3 Page 3 of 4 Stephanie Himmler Katie Hall Bridget Kohlhaas Joshua Lloyd Robin Martin Roy Pearman Explain in your own words: Art is the eye into the dark abyss of the unknown. It can inform you on many things if you look closely; “A picture is worth a thousand words.” In the given image, a variety of symbols and stylistic traits are present, which are clues in the pursuit to determine the ancient Egyptian’s way of life. Religion and what they believed was extremely important to the Egyptians. It would signify power, life, and creation. In the given image, there are a lot of symbols with many different meanings. In the lower right corner there appears to be a small falcon which symbolizes the god Horus. He is the “king of the earth and a force for good.”1 The scale difference in this picture emphasizes that ancient Egypt functioned in a hierarchy. The two people sitting are larger than and facing away from the two standing individuals representing, through their technique of hieratic scale, or symbolic alteration, that the larger people are higher class. This implicates that ancient Egyptians had, among other classes, slaves, paupers, workers, and kings. Another assumption that can be made due to the use of hieratic scale is the belief that individuals were endowed with powers (in terms of kings) or born into their place in society. Also, the publicized scale shows they strongly believed the ruler should appear strong and more significant than anyone else around them. Standing, which can be interpreted as work or the pampering of the leisurely sitting couple, the smaller people in the picture appear to find fulfillment waiting on the king and giving him superior treatment. This can point to a religious and/or social ordeal; they most likely hope to please the gods, who endows the kings with power, and have an exultant afterlife. Another interesting aspect of the Egyptian life portrayed here is the equality of sexes. The two greater people are male and female as well as proportional and the same height, which indicates a level ground of respect. Also represented well in this artwork is the conceptual art style of Egyptians. Here there are only four people but a multitude of symbols, which are vague, simple, and lacking detail but nonetheless represent something of importance. A few symbols present are numerous feathers (front of the leading person), detached arms holding what seems to be another feather (above the leader), different shapes (scattered throughout), wildlife (right edge; middle and bottom), and what looks like vegetation (top left; far right in red box). The feather, referred to as the Feather of Maat, represented justice, balance, and order, the main responsibilities of the king.2 Having the arm passing down the feather would indicate that royalty was usually bloodline dictated. The odd random shapes, though hard to decipher because of multiple meanings, specify highly held objects, like food and water, which are portrayed by the green plant‐like drawing and blue squiggles on the right. (Wall relief given; Stockstad, page 52; Art 101 Study Guide‐ Unit III, Egyptian art; Internet Source‐ http://www.ancient‐
symbols.com/ancient_egyptian_symbols.html). First Critical Thinking Project Study Group #3 Page 4 of 4 Stephanie Himmler Katie Hall Bridget Kohlhaas Joshua Lloyd Robin Martin Roy Pearman Works Cited Neely, Lahna, Art 101 Study Guides Stockstad, Marilyn. Art History. Volume one; third edition Given art work/wall relief http://www.ancient‐symbols.com/ancient_egyptian_symbols.html 1
Marilyn Stockstad, Art History (Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2008), 52.
2
Ancient Egyptian symbols. Retrieved March 10, 2010, from http://www.ancientsymbols.com/ancient_egyptian_symbols.html