Egyptian Painting

Team 10

History of Egyptian Painting…

• Egyptian Painting was the necessary complement to engraving, a means of making it more expressive, of endowing the work with magical life. All Egyptian ancient art was colored .

• There were important and strict injunctions to such sacred painting. For instance, women's skin is always painted light or pinkish yellow whereas men skin is red ochre. The only exception was the goddess Hathor who according to the law, had a skin as dark as one of a man.

Where did the paint and colors come from?

• Colors came from natural ingredients which were diluted with water and gum which helped them to stick to the support.

• Yellows and brick reds were obtained from the desert and white from chalk or lime.

The importance within the painting…

• People different sizes in the painting characterized their importance: the pharaoh appeared bigger than the official, the master of the tomb bigger than his servants. Another vital and interesting ingredient in the wall paintings of the tombs is the depiction of agricultural and farm scenes which had for its purpose, the symbolic offerings to the deceased.

Significance

• The significance of temple decorations are to be understood in theological terms, and served to explain the ceremonies that took place within the sanctuary; they illustrated the aspirations of the clergy and the concept of the divine right of kings.

• Tombs' paintings were in a perceivable trend not so much just to please the eye of the visitor to the funeral chamber as to help the deceased in his efforts to attain eternal life after his rebirth.

Symbolism

• Symbolism also played an important role in establishing a sense of order. Symbolism, ranging from the pharaoh's regalia (symbolizing his power to maintain order) to the individual symbols of Egyptian gods and goddesses, is omnipresent in Egyptian art.

• Animals were usually also highly symbolic figures in Egyptian art. Colors were more expressive rather than natural: red skin implied vigorous tanned youth, whereas yellow skin was used for women or middle-aged men who worked indoors; blue or gold indicated divinity because of its unnatural appearance and association with precious materials; the use of black for royal figures expressed the fertility of the Nile from which Egypt was born.

Rules of Painting

• Egyptian civilization was highly religious. Thus most Egyptian artworks involve the depiction of many gods and goddesses - of whom the Pharaoh was one. In addition, the Egyptian respect for order and conservative values led to the establishment of complex rules for how both Gods and humans could be represented by artists.

• The sizes of figures were calculated purely by reference to the person's social status, rather than by the normal artistic rules of perspective.

• Head and legs always in profile; eyes and upper body viewed from the front. For Egyptian sculpture and statues, the rules stated that male statues should be darker than female ones; when seated, the subject's hands should be on knees. Gods too were depicted according to their position in the hierarchy of deities, and always in the same guise.

The Influence of Greek Art on Egyptian Artists…

• A process accelerated by Alexander the Great and afterwards during the Ptolemaic Era, encouraged the naturalistic representation of individuals in paintings and sculpture, not unlike the process initiated by Akhenaton. Portraits became realistic and the rules of color were relaxed. This trend was further encouraged by the practical Roman style of art.

References • http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/ancient-art/egyptian.htm • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_of_ancient_Egypt • http://www.papyrus-museum.com/

history_egyptian_wall_painting.htm• http://www.aspectart.com/info/art-history/history-of-

western-paintings-iii-ancient-egypt-part-one• http://www.aldokkan.com/art/art.htm• http://www.aldokkan.com/art/painting.htm

Some Egyptian Artists and Their Work

• Nagui Achamallah

• Ahmed Khaled

• Huda Lutfi