Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Art

The Emergence of Egyptology• 1799: Napoleon

Bonaparte invades Egypt.– 38,000 troops – 175 scholars, linguists, artists

and antiquarians.– First large scale archaeological

expedition in history.• The Rosetta Stone:

– Discovered by a French officer in Rosetta

– Stele declaring honor of Ptolemy

– Dated 196 B.C.– Inscribed with 1 Greek and 2

Egyptian scripts– By 1820s, French

archaeologists had unlocked Egyptian Hieroglyphics for historians

• The art of Egypt is based in immortality.

• Art and architecture was designed to reflect an empire that was eternal, unchanging, permanent.

• Egyptian art remains unchanging, even if its history did not.– Most works of surviving art

come from tombs and temples.• Knowledge of Egypt is based

in religious beliefs and practices.

The Emergence of Egypt• 8,000 B.C.E: Settlements begin

on the Nile • 5,000 B.C.E: Neolithic farmers

begin irrigation on the Nile.• 3500 B.C.E

– Egypt is divided into Upper and Lower Egypt

– Two major kingdoms rule Egypt.– Powerful rulers emerge

• Protected their subjects• Prevented natural disasters

The Influence of the Nile• Egyptian civilization was based on

the annual flooding of the Nile.– Order, predictability became very

important to Egyptians.– Change meant famine, death

• Watching this important phenomenon made Egyptians observe natural phenomenon closely, giving it important supernatural meaning.– Sun/Moons rising– Rivers flooding

The Power of Priests• To keep gods happy,

kings built temples for them. – Priests appointed to run

them.– Statues of gods placed

inside.– Fresh food, clothing

brought to gods.– Gods/goddess often

portrayed in composite form (animal/human)

Digging into the Dynasties• Dynasty: Continuous

rule by members of a family.

• 31 Dynasties ruled Egypt, beginning in 3100 B.C.E– Starting point:

Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.

– End point: Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 332. B.C.E

The First of the Pharoahs• 3100 B.C.E-Pharoah

Narmer unites Upper and Lower Egypt, becoming the first dynasty.

• Pharaoh: “Great House” in Egyptian.– Became viewed as gods in

human form.– Descendants of Ra, sun

god. • Artistic emphasis placed on

immortality: Ensuring peaceful afterlife for the pharaoh (god)

The Symbols of Unification• White crown: Upper Egypt

– Sacred symbols: Vulture and the lotus.

• Red Crown with Cobra: Lower Egypt– Cobra was goddess of lower

Egypt. Papyrus also sacred.• Combined crown: United Egypt

The Palette of Narmer3,000 B.C.E-2920 B.C.E

• Composed in registers, telling story of unification.

• Hierarchy of scale demonstrates power of the Pharaoh.

• Possibly world’s oldest historical document.

• Bas-relief form.• Horus, hawk god of war, watches

approvingly, stands on a papyrus plant.– Gods and kings work together.

The Palette of Narmer, B.C.E

The Palette Sets a Pattern• The Palette of Narmer

sets a standard for Egyptian art that doesn’t change much over 3,000 years.– Once established, style

doesn’t change.– A Canon of Proportions

kept royalty looking the same.

– If the pharaoh is unchanging, godlike, consistent- art must be as well.

How did they do it?• Grids were drawn to

ensure consistent proportions. – For example, men made up 18

units in a grid.• Knees, belly button, elbows,

shoulders, etc. all specified units apart.

• Composite poses (shows all parts necessary for afterlife.)– Striding to show both legs– Hips, legs, feet in profile.– Torso is fully frontal– Heads in profile, eye facing

forward.

Showing Social Status• Hierarchy of scale

demonstrated importance. • People of lower status

shown more naturally, more flexible.

• Women, drawn smaller than men, children smaller.

• Men painted brown/red, women yellow color.– Contentment and stability

were the focus.

Ti and the Hippo Hunt

The Standards of Egyptian Sculpture

• Nearly all sculpture that has been preserved came from tombs or temples.– Importance of subject dictated

rigidity of proportions.• In the round• In relief• Sitting or standing

– Lower ranks allowed for more realistic action.• Seated Scribe c. 2400 B.C.E

– Wooden– Less ideal, more real than the

pharaohs.

Compare and Consider

The Egyptian Afterlife• Ka: Life force or “soul”

– Lived on after the body died– Enjoyed activities of life– Needed a body to live in

(mummy or sculpture)• Bodies needed to be

preserved.• Favorite activities, possessions

in the tomb• Ka would return to the body or

statue so the person could live again.

A House of the Dead• A dead pharaoh

needed a safe, protected comfortable place for his ka.– Ensured continued protection

for Egypt.– Bodies preserved carefully– Sculptures were alternate

bodies in case body decayed.

– Supplies, slaves and furnishings provided.

– Wall decorations provided documentation and direction.

How to Make a Mummy• 1. Take body to a mortuary for

embalming.• 2. Have a priest supervise removal of

brains (through nose) and all organs except the heart.– Place in Canopic Jars to be placed in the

tomb. • 3. Cover the body in natron salt and

soak.• 4. Place on slope to allow juices to

drain.• 5. Use red ocher or yellow ocher for skin

color.• 6. Pack clean linen into the body cavity.• 7. Wrap body in cloth strips. • 8. Place body in tomb to reunite with

the ka

Inside the Sarcophagus• Sarcophagus: A Stone

Coffin– Placed inside pyramids to

further protect the body.– Often carved In Situ– Designed to be similar to

little palaces.– Sometimes contained inner

coffins of wood.– Later dynasties made them

human shaped, covered in gold and lapus.

Building Pyramids…from the ground up.

• Early dynastic tombs were Mastabas: Arabic for “bench”– Mud-brick– Rectangular slab– Flat topped– One-story – Four sloping sides– Underground tomb,

accessible only to the ka

To Make a Mastaba• Serdab: small, sealed

room for a ka statue• Chapel for visiters.• Shaft to drop offerings to

the deceased. – buildings grouped together

in a Necropolis: “City of the dead” facing toward the west, to the setting sun.

The Stepped Pyramid of King Djoser

• First monumental stone building.– Staircase appearance, pharaoh

can step up to heaven.– Part of a funeral complex– Burial is below ground– Corners are aligned with compass

points.• Statue of the pharaoh let him spy on

priests through peep holes. Creepy.

Getting Ahead of the Greeks• Imhotep

incorporated columns into his designs even before the Greeks.– Engaged

Columns: A column attached to a wall for decoration, not support.

From Steps to Slopes• 4th Dynasty: Step pyramids evolved

into sloping sides– Sides mimic the suns rays coming through a

cloud.– Stories on walls tell story of kings climbing to join

Ra (sun king).• How to build a pyramid:

– Use stone blocks, no mortar or mud.– Orient sides to four cardinal directions. – Drag stones up a staircase (?)– Smooth outer stone– Cover the top in gold

The Great Pyramids at Giza• Named by Greek historian,

Herodotus.• Built for three 4th Dynasty

kings:– Khufu (largest pyramid)-

grandpa– Khafre (smaller)-dad– Menkaure (smallest)-son

• All part of a huge complex, including small pyramids for queens.

The Son’s Sphinx• The Great Sphinx

– Carved In Situ: From local available rock or “on site”.• May be the face of Khafre, guarding

the tombs.• Lion body, human head, pharaoh’s

Nemes headdress.• Headdress fills negative space, making

statue look huge.• Faces rising sun, associated with

pharaoh.

Fun Fact: Did you know….• Cats were sacred,

royal animals in Egypt? – Believed to guard

the underworld.– Possibly sacred

because they killed mice which ate grain.

– Worshipped and revered as beautiful and holy.

• Statue of Khafre, 2500 B.C.E

• Attaching pharaoh to the throne showed his solidity and permanence.

• Frontal view, followed canon of proportions.

• Rigid, unmoving, clenched• Horus sits behind him,

guarding/approving.• No negative space• Smaller sculptures placed in

tombs• Breaking limbs meant

incomplete afterlife, Ka couldn’t recognize the statue.

Making Meaning of Menakure• Started with an upright block.

– Both connected to the rock.– His stance is wider, more

testosterone.– He is clenched, she relaxed.– Couple seems stable, like the

kingdom.– Both stoic, but her face is more

realistic.– No negative space, especially with

the headdress.– Certainty of the couple connects to

certainty of Egypt.

Making Connections With Mesopotamia• Similarity: Both Mesopotamia

and Egypt viewed their rulers as mediators with the gods.– Difference: All Egyptian rulers

WERE gods• Similarity: Ziggurats and

Pyramids both served a religious purpose.– Difference: Pyramids sent

Pharaohs TO the gods, Ziggurats allowed communication and sacrifice.

Pyramids for All People• During the Middle

Kingdom, trade expanded as Egypt expanded.

• A wealthy, middle class began demanding rights and tombs, viewed themselves as important too.– Began creating Rock-

Cut tombs out of solid rock, hiding wealth from grave robbers.

– Pharaoh’s followed the example.

Invasion & War: Here Come the Hyksos

• 1640-1550 B.C.E: Egypt was upset by the invasion of the Hyksos.

• 1539 B.C.E- 18th Dynasty regains control of Nile, from Nubia to Mediterranean.

• 1479 B.C.E- Thutmose III extends Egypt using 15 military campaigns to create an empire.

The Novelties of the New Kingdom Temples

• Originally modeled after homes since the “gods lived there”. The New Kingdom added:– Pylon Temple: A gateway

with tapered walls– Peristyle : A columned

courtyard– Hypostyle : Columned

hallway from Greek words hupo (under) and stulos (pillar).

– Offering Hall– Sanctuary– Symmetrical, Axial

design.

Here Comes Hatshepsut• Married her half brother,

Thutmose II.• Regent for her stepson,

Thutmose III.• Pharaoh after her husband died.

– Called “his majesty”– Wore the ceremonial beard

• Ruled for 21 years (1473-1458) – Cultivated peace– Sponsored great building projects,

fixing the Hyksos damage.– Completed tombs for her dad and

husband.

A Monumental Mortuary• New Kingdom Rulers

undertook massive building projects to show power.

• Funerary Temple of Hatshepsut:– First time a woman is celebrated

in art history.– Designed for funeral rites,

ceremonies.– Honors gods Anubis, Ra, Horus,

Hathor– Larger than the tomb itself (to

protect from grave robbers)

Monotheistic Mayhem• 1353 B.C.E.- Amenhotep

IV of the 18th dynasty founded a new religion worshiping one god, Aten, god of light.– Changed his name to

Akehnaten– Moved the capitol to

Akhetaten (today, Tell el-Amarna).

– Began a period of reign known as the Amarna period, based on honesty.

– Requested open air temples to let light in.

– Not very well accepted by Egyptians.

The Amarna and Akhenaton• Statue of Akehnaton

– Created for a temple to Aten near Karnak.

– Dimples indicate facial expression.

– Non-ideal forms– More relaxed, smoother

features.– Doesn’t try to hide

flaws or follow canon rules..

The Bust of Nefertiti• Queen to Akhenaten

– Ideal and real at the same time.

– Realistic face (New Kingdom influence)

– Fancy jewelry (popular in New Kingdom)

– Only finished on one side, may have been a model for future work.

– Her name means, “The beauty that has come.”

Temple at Karnak• Layers of Middle & New Kingdom

Construction

Temple of Amun-RaCapitals show scenes of Pharoah’s

accomplishmentsClerestory – architectural innovation

to bring in light to temple

King Tut• 1922: archaeologist Howard

Carter discovers untouched tomb of King Tut, son of Nefertiti.– Only royal tomb found undisturbed.– Three coffins protect the body.– Face covered with a mask, showing

relaxed, New Kingdom features.– Innermost coffin made of 240 pounds of

gold.– 5,000 artifacts in tomb– Crook and flail, associated with Osiris,

trademark of royalty.

Book of the Dead & Tomb Scrolls

• Not really a “book” • Scrolls made for burial with

dead, to communicate with godsWeighing the

heart….Anubis holds the scales….crocodile-

spirit of evil waits for

outcome….

Anubis holds the deceased…family

offers gifts….

sacrifices are

prepared

Important Things to Remember About Egypt• Egyptian art often has a

religious, political and social purpose.

• Egyptian art changes little over 3,000 years to provide a message of stability, unchanging rule.

• Patronage (who paid for it) is an important factor in Egyptian art.

• The politics of different kingdoms can be seen slightly in Egyptian art.