AP Art History
Chapter 3
Egypt Under the Pharaohs
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Artwork was constructed to ensure Pharaoh’s eternal
good will
Ka (soul) of the Pharaoh was capable of happiness in the
after-life if the body was preserved, earthly possessions
were placed in the tomb, and paintings and sculptures to
serve as reminders of who the Pharaoh was.
Because of this, most artwork is funerary and followed a
strict canon
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PREDYNASTIC AND EARLY
DYNASTIC EGYPT
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PALETTE OF NARMER
• 3100 BCE – one of the 1st historical works of art
• Palette - stone slab with as circular depression
• Palettes were typically used as a utilitarian object used to
prepare eye makeup.
• 2 sides commemorate Narmer’s unification of Upper and
Lower Egypt
• Designed to convey his power and invincibility through
hierarchical scale
• Became a standard for Egyptian figural art for the next 3000
years
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PALETTE OF NARMER
•
At the top of both sides is the goddess Hathor represented as a
cow with a woman’s face
•
In the top center is the hieroglyphic name of Narmer - it is the
earliest labeled work of historical art
•
On the back of the palette Narmer wears the bowling-pin shaped
crown of Upper Egypt and is accompanied by a sandal bearer while
he slays his enemy. Narmer is barefoot because he stands on
sacred ground as a divine king.
•
On the right is Horus - falcon with human arms takes captive a
man-headed hieroglyph with a papyrus plant growing from it which
represents Lower Egypt.
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PALETTE OF NARMER
• On the Front, the elongated necks of two felines form the
circular depression that would have held the eye makeup. Their
intertwined necks may also serve as a symbol of the unification
of Egypt.
• Narmer, in the second register is the largest and wears the
cobra crown of Lower Egypt and is reviewing the beheaded
bodies of the enemy.
• Narmer is proceeded by four standard bearers and a priest and
he is followed by his foot washer or sandal bearer
• The bottom register shows a bull knocking down a fortress Narmer knocking over his enemies.
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Figure 3-3 Palette of King Narmer (left, back; right, front), from Hierakonpolis, Egypt, Predynastic, ca. 3000–2920 BCE. Slate,
2’ 1” high. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
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Standard tombs
for the Pharaoh
during this time
was mastabas
Mastaba – singlestory trapezoidal
tomb
Figure 3-4 Section (top), plan
(center),and restored view (bottom) of
typical Egyptian mastaba tombs.
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Imhotep’s Pyramid of King Djoser
• Architect of the 3rd dynasty who created a
step pyramid
• He is the first artist/architect recorded in
history
• 6 – mastaba structures stacked
• Similar to ziggurat except function
• Later pyramids were based upon his design
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Figure 3-5 IMHOTEP, Stepped Pyramid and mortuary precinct of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt, Third Dynasty, ca. 2630–2611 BCE.
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OLD KINGDOM
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Each pyramid had an
adjoining mortuary temple
Pharaoh buried inside the
pyramid unlike the stepped
pyramid where the Pharaoh
was buried under the building
Each side of pyramid is
oriented with a cardinal
direction
Figure 3-8 Great Pyramids, Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth
Dynasty. From bottom: Pyramids of Menkaure, ca. 2490–
2472 BCE; Khafre, ca. 2520–2494 BCE; and Khufu, ca.
2551–2528 BCE.
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Figure 3-9 Section of the Pyramid of Khufu, Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2551–2528 BCE.
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Figure 3-10 Model of the Fourth Dynasty pyramid complex, Gizeh, Egypt. Harvard University Semitic Museum, Cambridge. 1)
Pyramid of Menkaure, 2) Pyramid of Khafre, 3) mortuary temple of Khafre, 4) causeway, 5) Great Sphinx, 6) valley temple of
Khafre, 7) Pyramid of Khufu, 8) pyramids of the royal family and mastabas of nobles.
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Sculptures
• Created to be the abode for the ka should the mummy
be destroyed.
• Primarily made of stone when depicting royalty or
nobility
• One Egyptian word for sculptor can be translated “hewho-keeps- alive.”
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Khafre
•Made of diorite
•Sits rigidly on a throne created from two
lions’ bodies.
•Intertwined lotus and papyrus plants –
symbol of unification
•Sculpture is compact to ensure parts could
not be broken off
•Muscular, flawless body = power
•Horus enfolds Pharaoh’s head with his
protective wings = divine appointment
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Menkaura and his Queen
•Youthful bodies
•Menkaura -Standing with arms
at side, fists clinched and left
foot slightly in front – he is in
the position of power
•His wife (Khamerenbety?)
clings to his side showing their
marital status
•Both are emotionless and rigid
Figure 3-13 Menkaure and Khamerernebty(?),
from Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2490–
2472 BCE. Graywacke, 4’ 6 1/2” high. Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston.
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Seated Scribe
• Limestone
• Painted
• Less monumental
and less important
More realistic since
there was no need
for formality
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http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/seated-scribe.html
Ti – an official of 5th dynasty
Scenes depicted things
associated with provision of
the ka in the after-life
Also, success in a hunt
symbolized the triumph over
the forces of evil.
Figure 3-15 Ti watching a hippopotamus
hunt, relief in the mastaba of Ti, Saqqara,
Egypt, Fifth Dynasty, ca. 2450–2350 BCE.
Painted limestone, 4’ high.
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MIDDLE KINGDOM
Ca. 2150 BCE the Egyptian people began to question the Pharaoh’s
power and Egypt was in civil unrest for more than a century.
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Rock-cut tombs
• Most widely used burial method of the Middle Kingdom and largely replaced
the mastabas of the Old Kingdom
• Hollowed out of cliffs with a shallow columnar porch (vestibule) which led
into a columned hall then into the burial chamber
• In some rock-cut tombs the columns were decorative and served no structural
purpose
• The walls were decorated as in times past with reliefs and paintings and
statues were placed within niches.
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Figure 3-18 Rockcut tombs BH 3-5,
Beni Hasan, Egypt,
12th Dynasty, ca.
1950 – 1900 BCE.
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Figure 3-19 Interior hall of the rock-cut tomb of Amenemhet (tomb BH 2), Beni Hasan, Egypt, 12th Dynasty, ca. 1950–
1900 BCE.
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NEW KINGDOM
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HATSHEPSUT
Her husband Thutmose II died and since she had no male heirs 12-year old
Thutmose II the son of a minor wife was to become heir. Hatshepsut was
named regent for the boy king and within a few years she proclaimed herself
Pharaoh. She ruled for two decades.
Mortuary temple – 3 colonnaded terraces connected by ramps
pillars are rectangular
terraces would have housed gardens
reliefs depict birth (daughter of Amen-Re) to coronation
1st great tribute to woman’s achievement in Art History
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Figure 3-20 Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut (with the Middle Kingdom mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II at left), Deir
el-Bahri, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1473–1458 BCE.
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200 statues of Hatshepsut
were created but many were
destroyed by Thutmose III
after her death
She is represented as a male
in many of her statues,
though there were some
where she was depicted with
a female physique
Figure 3-21 Hatshepsut with offering jars, from the upper
court of her mortuary temple, Deir el-Bahri, Egypt, 18th
Dynasty, ca. 1473–1458 BCE. Red granite, 8’ 6” high.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
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Temple of Ramses II
• Rock-cut Temple
• 4 – colossal images of himself on the
façade
• Interior housed 32 ft pillars of king as
Osiris – the god of order
• Male statue columns are called atantid
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Figure 3-22 Temple of Ramses II, Abu Simbel, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, ca. 1290–1224 BCE. Sandstone, colossi 65’ high.
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Figure 3-23 Interior of the temple of Ramses II, Abu
Simbel, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, ca. 1290–1224 BCE.
Sandstone, pillar statues 32’ high.
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Pylon Temples
• New Kingdom pharaohs commanded their architects to build pylon
temples to honor the gods and emphasize their power
• Two massive pylons, or gateways with sloping walls flanked the
entrance
• A lone axial corridor lead to an enormous hypostyle hall - a large
number of columns supported the roof of the hall
• The corridor eventually lead to a sanctuary that only priest and the
pharaoh could enter.
Figure 3-A Pylon
gate of the temple
of Amen-Re,
Karnak, Egypt,
begun 15th century
BCE
Figure 3-B Approaching
avenue of the temple of
Amen-Re, Karnak, Egypt,
begun 15th century BCE
Figure 3-25 Hypostyle hall, temple
of Amen-Re, Karnak, Egypt, 19th
Dynasty, ca. 1290–1224 BCE.
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Figure 3-26 Model of the hypostyle hall, temple of Amen-Re, Karnak, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, ca. 1290 – 1224
BCE. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
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Tomb paintings
• Frontalism – canon of Egyptian painting and relief carving
• Rules:
– the head of the character is always drawn in profile, while the body is seen
from the front.
– Although the face is to the side, the eye is drawn in full.
– The legs are turned to the same side as the head, with one foot placed in
front of the other.
– The head is at right angles to the body.
– Every figure, in paintings or sculptures, stands or sits with a formal, stiff,
and rigid posture.
– The stance of the body is severe, but the faces are calm and serene
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Fowling Scene, from the tomb if Nebamum
• Tomb of nobleman whose official titles were “scribe and counter of grain”
• He is enjoying this activity in the afterlife
• Nebamum is in action – throwing a stick and holding three birds he has
captured in his right hand
• His wife and daughter accompany him on his hunt
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Figure 3-28 Fowling scene, from the tomb of Nebamun, Thebes, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1400–1350 BCE. Fresco on
dry plaster,. 2’ 8” high. British Museum, London.
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AMARNA PERIOD
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Akhenaton – abandoned all
gods but Aton
This statue is frontal but has
an effeminate body, full lips
and heavy-lidded eyes
Was it an accurate depiction
or a symbol of rebellion?
Figure 3-30 Akhenaton, from the temple of Aton,
Karnak, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1353–1335 BCE.
Sandstone, 13’ high. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
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Deliberately unfinished?
Long neck believed to
allude to a flower on a
stalk
Figure 3-31 THUTMOSE, Nefertiti, from Amarna,
Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1353–1335 BCE. Painted
limestone, approx. 1’ 8” high. Ägyptisches Museum,
Berlin.
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Figure 3-33 Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and three daughters, from Amarna, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1353–1335 BCE.
Limestone, 1’ 1/4” high. Ägyptisches Museum, Berlin.
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POST-AMARNA PERIOD
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Tutankhamen
• The legacy of the Armana period can be seen in the art and artifacts
discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamen.
• However, he served as a transitional figure for a return to the traditional
religion and traditional conventions in art. This is actually documented on
some of the treasures discovered in his tomb. His throne, which was made
early in his reign revealed his birth name – Tutankaton
•
His tomb was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter.
• Tutankhamen was a minor figure during his life – he rose to the throne
around the age of 9 and was Pharaoh for just a decade and died around the
age 19.
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Tut’s body laid in repose within the
innermost coffin of three separate
coffins nested on within the other.
It is the most luxurious of the three
Made of gold, inlaid with semiprecious
stones
It depicts Tut as Osiris, god of the
underworld
Figure 3-34 Innermost coffin of Tutankhamen, from his tomb at Thebes,
Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1323 BCE. Gold with inlay of enamel and
semiprecious stones, 6’ 1” long. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
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Death mask covered the
face of King Tut
Made of gold and
semiprecious stones
Figure 3-1 Death mask of Tutankhamen, from the
innermost coffin in his tomb at Thebes, Egypt, 18th
Dynasty, ca. 1323 BCE. Gold with inlay of
semiprecious stones, 1’ 9 1/4” high. Egyptian
Museum, Cairo.
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Last Judgement of Hu Nefer
• Anubus (jackal-headed) god of embalming weighs Hu Nefer’s
heart againgh Moat’s feather
• Ammit (hippo and lion) the devourer of the sinful awaits the
judgement
• Thoth (ibis headed) records the proceedings
• A pantheon of gods witness from above
• Horus leads him to Osiris, Isis and Nephthys where he is
awarded an after-life
• Signifies a return to conservatism
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Figure 3-36 Last judgment of Hu-Nefer, from his tomb at Thebes, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, ca. 1290–1280 BCE. Painted papyrus
scroll, 1’ 6” high. British Museum, London.
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What Kingdom?
•As a group discuss which era of Egyptian
history you believe the artwork is from.
•Write down which era and your reasoning for
choosing that era, provide 3-4 reasons.
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