ART HISTORY AP ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART

1st large-scale “archeological” expedition in history landed in Egypt with Napoleon’s armies in 1798

o Went to investigate digging a canal between the Mediterranean and Red seas

o Took 200 soldiers to study the ancient sites.

o Scholars eventually published 36 illustrated volumes of their findings

1923- discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb

1987- reopening of a burial complex in the Valley of the Kings

1995- tomb of Ramses II’s 52 sons

2000- discovery of more than 100 mummies in the Valley of the Golden Mummies- believed to be 10,000 buried

there

THE GIFT OF THE NILE

o Longest river in the world. Broad delta emptying into the sea. Before dammed in1970, would flood the

banks for several months each year. When they receded they left behind new layers of rich silt- maybe

the area a fertile and attractive habitat.

o 8000 BCE- relatively sedentary life (living off fish, game and wild plants)

o 5000 BCE- adopted agricultural village lie associated with Neolithic culture

o Similar strife as those in the Fertile Crescent

o 3500 BCE- larger states (chiefdoms) in the lower Nile Valley

o Pre-Dynastic Period

5000-2950 BCE

Dynasties- periods in which members of the same family inherited a throne)

According to mythology, early gods ruled the earth as kings

Significant social and political transition that preceded the unification of Egypt under a single

ruler

Centralized for of leadership emerged

Leaders were considered to be divine

Subject expected protection from outside and natural catastrophes

Surviving art consist of ceramic figurine, decorated pottery and relief carved stone plaques and

pieces of ivory

Few examples of Predynastic wall painting (genre scenes)

Found in a tomb at Heirakonpolis (Upper Egypt)

Composed of mud-brick houses, once housed as many as 10,000 people

EARLY DYNASTIC EGYPT

o Around 3000 BCE, Egypt became a consolidated state

Previously had 2 kingdoms: Upper Egypt in the South (upstream of the Nile), Lower Egypt in the

North (near the Delta)

Unified by Menes

o Manetho’s List

Egyptian priest and historian: used temple records to compile a chronological list of Egypt’s

rulers since ancient times.

Listed 30 dynasties that ruled between 3000-332 BCE, Egypt was then conquered by Alexander

the Great of Macedonia and the Greeks

o Religion and the State

Most important deities in Egypt’s pantheon are introduced in creation myths

Creation Myths

Ra (Ra-Atum) shaped himself out of the waters of chaos (unformed matter), emerged

sealed atop a mound of sand hardened by his own rays- PRIMORIDIAL WATERS

Spitting- he creates the gods of wetness (Tefnut) and dryness (Shu) who begat Geb

(earth) and Nut (sky). They produced 2 sons: Osiris and Seth, and 2 daughters: Isis and

Nephtys

Osiris took Isis as his wife and became King of Egypt

Seth killed Osiris, out of jealousy, and hacked him into pieces.

Isis and Nephthys gathered the scattered remains and with the help of Anubis put him

back together

Isis then conceived a son, Horus, with Osiris. Horus in turn defeated Seth and Osiris

returned to the underworld to oversee the dead

Human begins created from Ra’s tears, other version they were created by Khnum’s

potter’s wheel

The God Kings

Early Dynastic period (2950-2575 BCE) kings were revered as gods in human form

heb sed or sed festival- renewed affirmation of their power

Kings rejoined their sun father Ra at death and rode with him in the solar boat as it

made its journey across the sky (Venus or the Sun)

Built temples to the gods and staffed them with priests

o Priests would take care of the statues of the gods and make sure they were

never without food or clothing.

o Concept of spirit, or soul, residing in objects

o Would be surrounded by other statues of human and animals.

o Sometimes human-animal hybrids

By New Kingdom (1539-1075 BCE) Amun (chief god of Thebes), Ra (Heliopolis) and Ptah

(Memphis) became primary gods

o Other gods include: Hathor (cow) goddess of love and fertility. Thoth (ibis) god

of writing, science, and law, Maat (feather) god to truth, order and justice,

Anubis (jackal) god of embalming and cemeteries, Bastet (cat) daughter of Ra

o Religious beliefs reflect an ordered cosmos. Gods moved the heavenly bodies

and human activities were all part of grand design

o Death feared by those who disrupt harmony

o Artistic Conventions

Conventions in art are the customary ways of representing people and the world- generally

accepted by artists and patrons.

Images are based on memory images and characteristic viewpoints

Mathematical formulas are used to determine proportion

Importance determines size (hieratic scale)

Space represented in horizontal registers

Drawing/contours are simplified

Colors are clear and flat

o Twisted Perspective

Memory image- generic form that suggests a specific object

Representation of the body from its most characteristic angle

Heads shown in profile

Eyes rendered frontally

Profile representation from the hips down

Fully frontal torso

Usually striding to reveal both legs

Formalize version of twisted perspective as seen in Neolithic and Near Eastern Art

Common people tend to be rendered more naturally

Similar convention governed proportions of animals, insects, inanimate objects, landscapes, and

architecture

Groundline- applied to establish space- series of horizontal registers

o The Canon of Proportions

Ideal image of the human form- representing a canon of proportions

Ration between heights and parts prescribed

Old Kingdom Standard Grid

Every body part has a designated place on the grid

Size depended on the amount of space an object occupied, not the object’s size. Gives

small figures monumental qualities

o Funerary Architecture

Essential part of every human personality is a life force, or spirit, called the ka

Ka lives on even after death, and is forever engaging in activities it enjoyed during life

Needed a body to live in, sculpted likenesses were adequate

Funerary practices focuses on safely moving the deceased into the afterlife

Tombs richly adorned= grave robbers paradise

The Mastaba

Flat topped one story building with slanted walls erected above a underground burial

chamber

1st constructed with mud brick, later with cut stone on the exterior facing

Serdab- simplest version, small sealed room housing the ka statue of the deceased

Vertical shaft dropped down to the burial chamber where the sarcophagus was

o COMPARE WITH STEPPED PYRAMIDS (stairways to gods and tomb protection)

The Necropolis

Extensive funerary complexes- “city of the dead”

Djoser devoted huge sums to this design and construction

Djoser’s Complex at Saqqara

3rd Dynasty King (2650-2631 BCE)

Commissioned earliest known monumental architecture in Egypt

Designed by Imhotep- prime minister and advisor

1st architect known by name

Originally planned as a single story mastaba, later enlarge the concept

Emerged as a step pyramid formed by 6 mastaba like elements

Adjacent funerary temples were where priests performed final rituals before placing the

mummified body in the tomb

THE OLD KINGDOM (2575-2150 BCE)

o Time of social and political stability

o Increasing military excursions

o Growing wealth of ruling families reflected in the size and complexity of tomb structures

o Kings/upper government positions= patrons of the arts

o Architecture: The Pyramids at Giza

Form most identified with Egypt

1st structures erected in the 4th dynasty (2575-2450 BCE)

Angled side= slanting rays of the sun

Construction

o Large worker’s burial sites at Giza attest to large labor force that was

assembled, housed, and fed

o Cut stone blocks- weigh approx 2.5 tons= quarried either on site or nearby

Transported them by sheer muscle power

Used small logs as rollers

Poured water on sand to make it slippery

Blocks dragged on sleds

o Stones in place= temporary sloping ramp around the body of the pyramid as it

grew higher

Could be dismantled as stones were laid and veneer was set

o Sophisticated mathematical calculations

o Oriented to the points of the compass

o May have incorporated other symbolic/astronomical calculations as well

o Sculpture

Adept at creating life-like 3D images. Contrasting early Mesopotamian cylindrical forms

(compact, solid, and blocklike)

o Tomb Decoration

Decoration was symbolic or religious- journey of the ka with pleasant living quarters for eternity

Royal or everyday events or scenes

THE MIDDLE KINGDOM

o Collapse of Old Kingdom was followed by about 150 years of political turmoil. Traditionally referred to

as the First Intermediate Period

o Provinces grew in power: establishing independent rule, political and military battles dominated the

period.

o 2010 BCE- 3 successive kings named Mentuhotep. Gained power from Thebes. Reasserted power and

founded the centralized 12th Dynasty.

o Middle Kingdom was another high point in Egyptian history

Powerful, unified government

Arts and writing flourish

Literary and artistic efforts reflect awareness of the political upheaval that had preceded

o Borders expanded as far south as Nubia at this point

o Sculpture: Royal Portraits

Express an awareness of the hardship and frailty of human existence

o Tomb Architecture and Funerary Objects

New form of tombs- rock-cut, excavated from eh faces of cliffs

Chambers had ornamental columns, lintels, false doors, niches all carved from solid rock

Usually painted

o Town Planning

Durable materials for tomb constructions

Mud brick construction for dwellings- only foundations now remain

Kahun

Town built by Senusret II for officials, priest and workers in his court

o Parallel street layout

o Rectangular blocks divided into lots for home and other building

o Reflect 3 distinct economic social levels

Priests, court officials, and families= large comfortable dwellings with

private living quarters, public rooms grouped around central courtyards

Workers and families= small 5 room row houses along narrow streets

THE NEW KINGDOM

o Second Intermediate Period- turbulent interruption in the succession of dynasties

o Hyksos from the Mediterranean invaded Egypt’s northernmost regions

o Kings of the 18th dynasty regained control of the entire Nile region- restored countries economic and

political strength

o Thutmose III

1st ruler to refer to himself as a Pharaoh. Term literally translates to “great house”

Marriage contracts between Egyptian and Near Eastern royalty eventually weakened Egypt’s

influence beyond the Nile.

o Great Temple Complexes

Extensive building programs along the entire length of the Nile

Palaces, forts, and administrative structures have fallen, great tomb and temple structures

remain

Expanded powers=political triumphs

God Amun- Thebe. Theban triad of deities- Amun, Mut (wife), Khons (sons)

These and other gods were a major focus of royal patronage

New Kingdom Temple Plan

Originally had the form of the house- home of the god

o Simple, rectangular, flat-roofed buildings preceded by a courtyard and gateway

o New kingdom enlarged these elements

o Gateway became a massive pylon with tapering walls

o Semipublic courtyard surrounded by columns (peristyle court)

o Temple itself included a hypostyle hall (vast hall filled with columns

o Inner rooms= offering halls and sanctuaries

o Symmetrical and axial design, arranged along a dominant center line- creating a

processional path

o Rooms became small and darker (more exclusive) as they neared the inner

rooms of the sanctuary. Only for pharaohs and priests

Karnak

o Temples were built and rebuilt for over 1,500 years

o Over 500 years of successive kings expanded the Amun temple until it covered

about 60 acres

o Access to sanctuary containing the statue of Amun, from the west (L side of

drawing)

Priests would wash and cloth the statue daily

Provided with meals twice a day

o Sacred lake to the south of the temple (kings and priests would undergo ritual

purifications)

o Got Khepri (scarab beetle) representative of rising sun, rebirth, and everlasting

life, next to sacred lake

o Akhenaten and the Art of the Amarna Period

Originally Amenhotep IV-most unusual ruler in Egyptian history (18th dynasty king)

17 year reign- radically transformed the political, spiritual and cultural life

Founded a new religion honoring a sing supreme god

Life giving deity Aten (represented by a disk)

Changes his name to Akhenaten “One who is effective on the Behalf of Aten”

Portraits

Built a 16 ft tall statue in front of the pillars in the new temple of Aten that he built at

karnak to challenge the state gods

Huge courtyard surrounded by porticos, oriented to the movement of the sun

Representation

o Strange, soft, welling forms suggestive of boneless, androgynous figure

o Long thin arms and legs

o Protruding stomach

o Thin neck, elongated skull

o Facial features are elongated to the point of distortion

Eyes slits and downturned

Very full lips

o Hold traditional royal insignia

New Amarna Style

Principle queen- Nefertit, served as divine priestess

Emphasized the philosophical principle of maat- divine truth= influenced new artistic

conventions

Commanded portrayal of the royal family in informal situations

Amarna Crafts

Crafts flourish- glassmaking

Bottles produced to hold scented oils

o The Return to Tradition: Tutankhamun and Rameses II

Akhenaten’s religion and ideas outlived him only a few years

Tutankhaten returned to traditional religious beliefs- changed his name to Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun

Sealed inner chamber never plundered

Found in 1922

Body lay inside 3 nested coffins that identified him with Osiris

Innermost coffin- shape of a mummy- richest of the 3 made of 240lbs. of gold

o Surface decorated with colored glass and semiprecious gemstones

o Fine incised linear designs and hieroglyphic inscriptions

o King holds a crook and a flail- symbols associated with Osiris

o Nemes- head cloth with cobra and vulture on his forehead covers his head

o Blue braided beard

o Necklace indicates military valor

o Nekhbet and Wadjyt- vulture and cobra gods of Upper and Lower Egypt

o Rameses II and Abu Simbel

Rameses II powerful and long-lived ruler

Egypt became a military empire

Triumphed diplomatically by securing peace with the Hittites- married a Hittite princess

Initiated building projects on a scale rivaling Giza

Temples at Abu Simbel

2 large temples carved from living rock

Not funerary monuments

o Books of the Dead

By New Kingdom- only person free of wrongdoing could enjoy an afterlife

Dead were thought to undergo judgement, presided over by Osiris, supervised by

Anubis

Hearts were weighed- believed to be the seat of the soul

Family commissioned scrolls containing magical spells or texts which embalmers placed

among the wrapping of mummified bodies to help the dead pass the test

Vary considerably in content

LATE EGYPTIAN ART

o Art in the hands of foreigners: Nubians, Persians, Macedonians, Greeks, and romans

o Reflects the conventions of their conquerors