Egyptian-Art-Inspired Life Vs. Death Visual Metaphors

Ancient Egyptian Art

• Egyptian art is very focused on the afterlife – Mummification process/caskets/death masks – Funerary monuments– Paintings often include images of the deceased meeting

gods in the afterlife• Egyptian art also included a lot of visual metaphors– i.e. The weighing of the deceased’s heart against the

weight of the feather of truth while a beast waits to eat the heart of those who sin• Metaphor for Judgment

Last Judgment of Hu-Nefer, from the Book of the Dead, Painted Papyrus Scroll

Left: Anubis, jackal headed godof embalming, leads Hu-Nefer tothe hall of judgment

He adjusts his scales to weigh Hu-Nefer’s heart against the feather of the Maat (goddess of truth and right)

Right: Ammit, a hybrid monster that is half hippopotamus, half lion, the devourer of the sinful, awaits thedecision of the scales

If the weighing had been unfavorableto the deceased, the monster would have eaten his heart

Assignment

• Design an artwork that illustrates both life and death without being too literal

• Think of symbols for life and death that are personal to you– What makes you feel most alive• What images illustrate what that feels like?

– What experiences have you had with death/how have those experiences impacted you?• What images can you use to illustrate those feelings?

Assignment

• Visual metaphors for both life and death must be included in the artwork – Consider how these two ideas relate to each other,

and how you will place your metaphors visually within a single piece

– Also consider that life and death are not necessarily positive vs. negative concepts…

• The suggested media are paint and or mixed media, but student choice of 2D media is allowed

Vanitas Still Life, Pieter Claesz, 1630

Inspired by Vanitas

Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers, Vincent van Gogh, 1888

The Two Fridas, Frida Kahlo, 1939

The Dream, Frida Kahlo, 1940

Example

Example

Example

Example

Example

Example

Emily Hannon

Emily Hannon

Emily Hannon

Sara Broers Brown

Sara Broers Brown

Sara Broers Brown

Sara Broers Brown

Gamma Acosta

Gamma Acosta

My Example: Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right

My Example: Better Late Than Never

My Example: Fortune Favors the Bold

My Example: Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder