Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
3100 BCE – Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by
Narmer (aka Menes)- capital placed at Memphis
2900 BCE – Hieroglyphics develop (Egyptian writing)
2700 BCE – 365 solar calendar develops – June 21 is
beginning of year - greatest Egyptian scientific
achievement
2686-2613 BCE – Pharaoh Djoser orders first pyramid
built by Imhotep (step pyramid)
2585 – 2470 BCE – Khufu, Khafre (also builds Sphinx)
and Menkaure order the 3 pyramids of Giza built.
Ancient Egypt
2100 BCE – capital is moved to Thebes by the
priesthood under Mentuhotep II of the 11th
Dynasty
1674 BCE – Egyptian former capital of Memphis
falls to Hyksos; Hyksos conquer Lower Egypt
and rule it for the next 100 years
1567 - 1550 BCE – Ahmose I conquers the
Hyksos and reunites Upper and Lower Egypt to
begins 18th Dynasty
Ancient Egypt
1478 – 1458 BCE – Hatshepsut rules as first
female pharaoh with her son Thutmoses III
1479 – 1425 BCE – Thutmoses III builds the
largest Egyptian Empire conquering Israel,
Mesopotamia and Nubia
1352 – 1336 BCE – Amenhotep IV changes his
name to Akhenaten; changes Egyptian religion
to monotheism; moves capital from Thebes to
Akhetaton (Amarna)
1336 – 1327 BCE – Tutankhamen restores
capital to Thebes; restores old religion; dies
shortly after
Ancient Egypt
1299 BCE – Rameses II fights Hittites at
Battle of Kadesh which ended in the
world’s first peace treaty. Rameses II goes
on to build many temples, buildings and
even cities during his reign.
1224 – 1165 BCE – Rameses III repulses
the invasion of the Indo-European Sea
People; he is considered the last of the
great Egyptian pharaohs
Ancient Egypt
Egyptian History can be broken down
in 3 major periods:
Old Kingdom – 2686 – 2181 BCE - Age of
pyramid builders
Middle Kingdom – 2040 – 1700 BCE –
rock cut tombs
New Kingdom – 1550 – 1070 BCE - most
successful period
Ancient Egypt
Egyptian kings were called pharaohs
The pharaoh’s assistant was known as a
vizier (and was also usually the chief
priest)
Egyptians develop the dynasty – a series
of kings/queens from the same family
If a pharaoh was too young to rule a
regent took over – temporary ruler until the
king was old enough to self-govern
Ancient egypt
RELIGION
Egyptian religion controlled every aspect of their
lives and after-lives
Strict rules must always be followed in daily life as
well as in depictions of life in art in order to
successfully cross over to the after-life
The Egyptians believed that the soul lived on
forever doing the same things that one did in life
Some gods were worshiped all over Egypt and
some were only minor local gods
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egyptians were Polytheistic
Major Egyptian Gods:
Ra (later named Amon-Ra or Amon-Re) – sun god; ruler of the gods
Osiris – god of heaven, resurrection, and plants
Isis – goddess of fertility , wife/sister of Osiris
Amen – god of creation; later combined with Ra to create one
leading deity
Anubis – god of the dead
Thoth – god of wisdom, the moon, and writing
Hathor – goddess of love, birth and death
Set(h)- god of chaos
Horus – protector of the pharaoh, a sky god
Bastet – Egyptian cat god, protector of souls
The ka was the Egyptian word for the life force or soul
Ancient Egypt – Art Characteristics
Strong sense of order
All figures must stand on horizontal lines
Egyptian canon of proportions is clearly defined (all
measurements must correspond exactly)
Aim at clarity rather than illusion
Head, hips, legs and feet always in profile
Eyes, shoulders and upper torso seen from front
Hierarchic scale – higher ranking individuals depicted
larger than lower ranking ones
Higher ranking officials were depicted within the rules
more strictly seeming almost rigid
Frozen, timeless quality to Egyptian Art
Ancient Egypt
Canon of Proportions – a set of rules
governing the proportions of the human
body as they must be rendered by the
artist
Hierarchic Scale – use of relative size to
indicate the comparative importance of
depicted objects or people
Pre-Dynastic Egypt
Ancient Egypt - Art
Palette of King Narmer
3100 BCE
Memphis, Egypt
This work shows Pharaoh Narmer (Menes) conquering
lower Egypt and uniting it with Upper Egypt
Relief sculpture
Ancient Egypt – Art
Tomb of Perneb (mastaba)
from Saqqara, Egypt
ca. 2,350-2,323 B.C.E.
limestone
approximately 16 ft. high
Ancient Egypt - Art
Step Pyramid of Pharaoh
Djoser
2681-2662 BCE
Saqqara, Egypt
Artist: Imhotep
First pyramid structure
built
First known artist –
Imhotep as architect
Djoser is also called
Zoser
Oldest stone structure
ever built
Old Kingdom Art
Red Pyramid of Sneferu
Sneferu’s Bent and Collapsed
Pyramids
Ancient Egypt - Art
Pyramids of Giza
2530 – 2470 BCE
Giza, Egypt
Pyramid of Khufu on
right; Pyramid of Khafre
in center; Pyramid of
Menkaure on left in front
Served as tombs like all
pyramids
Face exactly north, south,
east and west and are
aligned to the stars in
Orion’s belt
Ancient Egypt - Art
Ancient Egypt - Art
Great Pyramid of Giza
2530 BCE
Giza, Egypt
The only surviving
member of the Seven
Wonders of the World
The largest stone
structure ever built
480 ft tall – 100,000
workers – 23 years to
build
Ancient Egypt - Art
The Great Sphinx
2570 – 2544 BCE
Giza, Egypt
World’s largest
sculpture
In the image of Khafre
Size was meant to
impress visitors and
show pharaoh’s
power
Khafre
from Gizeh, Egypt
ca. 2,520-2,494 B.C.E.
diorite
approximately 66 in. high
Seated pharaoh – one of 3 accepted poses
Ancient Egypt - Art
Menkaure (Mycerinus) and
Queen Khamerernebty
2470 BCE
Giza, Egypt
King slightly taller and much
more rigid than wife
Canon of proportions followed
Queen is allowed to be less
rigid – can even place her
hand around his waist
Weight equally distributed on
both feet
Old Kingdom Art
Rahotep and
Princess Nofret
C. 2620 BCE
Meidum, Egypt
Possibly Sneferu’s
daughter
In Egyptian canon
of colors, size,
pose
Seated Scribe
from Saqqara, Egypt
ca. 2,450-2,350 B.C.E.
painted limestone
approximately 21 in. high
Note that he is not perfect and is in fact a bit
flabby
Ancient Egypt - Art
Ka-Aper
2500 BCE
Saqqara, Egypt
Proves Egyptians
could create realistic
portrayals of people
when not of the
nobility or royalty
Heavy set, older
Ancient Egypt - Art
Ti Watching a
Hippopotamus Hunt
2500 – 2400 BCE
Saqqara, Egypt
Typical Egyptian pose
Ti is larger than servants
– watching and not
participating in the hunt
Hippos were symbols of
the god of chaos - Set in
Egypt and looked upon
unfavorably
Middle Kingdom
Rock cut Tombs BH 3-5
Beni Hasan, Egypt, Dynasty XII
ca. 1950-1900 B.C.E.
These tombs are cut directly into the cliff
Tomb of Meketre, Thebes, Egypt
ca. 1,985 B.C.E.
Many non-royal tombs have been discovered
with artifacts
Riverboat
from tomb of Meketre, Thebes, Egypt
ca. 1,985 B.C.E.
gessoed and painted wood
50 3/8 in. long
Granary
from tomb of Meketre, Thebes, Egypt
ca. 1,985 B.C.E.
gessoed and painted wood
29 1/8 in. long
Statuette of an offering bearer
from tomb of Meketre, Thebes, Egypt
ca. 1,985 B.C.E.
gessoed and painted wood
44 1/8 in. high
Hippopotamus
from Thebes, Egypt
1991-1783 B.C.E.
faience and ceramic
7 7/8 in. long
Egyptians loved to use faience
New Kingdom
Ancient Egypt - Art
Mausoleum of Queen
Hatshepsut
1478 - 1458 BCE
Thebes, Egypt
Hatshepsut became the
first female pharaoh
First important historical
female
Tomb built on terraces –
this was a temple – the
body not placed here
Hatshepsut
with offering jars
Deir el-Bahri, Egypt
ca. 1,473-1,458 B.C.E.
red granite
8 ft. 6 in. high
Although female, she appears male in all
public functions and in monuments and
sculpture
Ancient Egypt - Art
The Weighing of the Heart and The Judgement of Osiris
1285 BCE
Thebes, Egypt
Part of the Book of the Dead – Ancient Egypt’s Holy
Book
Ancient Egypt - Art
Temple of Rameses II
1260 BCE
Abu Simbel (Answan),
Egypt
Greatest example of all
temples Rameses II built
Placed his name on over
50% of all New Kingdom
monuments
Egyptian standards
unchanged despite
passage of centuries
Temple of Amen-Re (Amon-Ra)
Karnak, Egypt
ca. 15th century B.C.E.
World’s largest religious structure
Ancient Egypt - Art
Nobleman Hunting in the
Marshes
1400 BCE
Thebes, Egypt
From Tomb of Nebamun
Focus on conveying the
message of what is going
on not in realism
Similar to Ti relief from
1100 years earlier
Ancient Egypt - Art
Musicians and Dancers
1350 BCE
Thebes, Egypt
Tomb of Nebamun
Combination of
innovation and beauty in
New Kingdom art; rules a
bit more flexible –
musicians actually face
the viewer
Ancient Egypt
- The Amarna Revolution
Amenhotep IV’s religious and artistic revolution
It started as an attempt to thwart the power of
the priests at Thebes and turned into a full blown
revolution in religious beliefs
Amenhotep IV proclaims Aten as the only god –
all others are declared false and their temples
are ordered closed
Amenhotep IV changes his name to Akhenaten
(son of Aten)
Akhenaten moves capital from Thebes to new
capital called Aketaten (Amarna), basically
putting priests out of power
Ancient Egypt
- The Amarna Revolution
Major changes are also made in art
Amarna Period Characteristics:
Exaggerated features – protruding stomach;
large lips, elongated heads
Sensitive Portrayals – more intimacy and
emotion is portrayed
More Informal – everyday scenes are depicted
Overemphatic Outlines
Stylized realism
Ancient Egypt - Art
Akhenaten, Nefertiti and
Their Children
Worshipping the Sun
1348 – 1336 BCE
Amarna, Egypt
Typical Amarna period
characteristics: deep
outlines, exaggerated
features, daily life scene,
intimacy
Yet still within Egyptian
basic rules
Ancient Egypt - Art
Bust of Queen
Nefertiti
1348 – 1336 BCE
Amarna, Egypt
Limestone
Considered the
masterpiece of
Egyptian Art
A symbol of beauty
even in modern times
Ancient Egypt - Art
Queen Tiye
1390 – 1352 BCE
Thebes, Egypt
Mother of Amenhotep IV,
wife of Amenhotep III
This sculpture breaks
with tradition before the
Amarna Revolution
Realistic portrayals of
royalty are allowed briefly
during this time
Death Mask of Tutankhamen
from Thebes, Egypt
ca. 1,323 B.C.E.
gold with semiprecious stones
21 1/4 in. high
Over 22 lbs. of gold
Ancient Egypt - Art
Cover of Tutankhamen’s
Coffin
1336 – 1327 BCE
Thebes, Egypt
Sculpture
Solid gold with gemstones
Tutankhamen is most
famous of pharaohs
Because his tomb was only
one ever discovered intact –
Howard Carter
http://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=0IQHtsdCPp4
Shrine
Wedjat Eye of Tutankhamen
from Thebes, Egypt
ca. 1,333-1,323 B.C.E.
gold and precious stones
2 in. wide
Symbol of protection for the king
Ptolemaic Egypt
Bast (Cat Goddess)
from Thebes, Egypt
304-31 B.C.E.
bronze
11 in. high
Kept evil spirits from tombs
Cleopatra
Ancient Egypt - Art
Rosetta Stone
196 BCE
Rosetta, Egypt
Inscription in 3
languages allowed for
the decipherment of
hieroglyphics by Jean
Champolloin
The story in the 3
languages tells of
Ptolemy V
Roman Egypt
Temple of Dendur
from Nubia
ca. 15 B.C.E.
sandstone
82 ft. long
Held inside Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY
Portrait of a boy
from Faiyum, Egypt
2nd century A.D.
encaustic on wood
15 in. high
Placed over the mummies of Roman
aristocracy in Egypt
Faiyum portraits
2nd century A.D.
encaustic on wood
Ancient Egypt
The End
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