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Egypt: The Gift of the Nile
Ancient Egyptians lived along
the river. River a source of life.
Death monuments were located
in the desert.
Upper Egypt to the south, Lower
Egypt to the North.
The predictable flooding of the
Nile lead to a belief in a orderly,
rational universe.
3000 year tradition that still lives
in the imagination of many.
Egyptian Chronology
Pre-dynastic 3000 - 2611 BCE
Old Kingdom 2611 - 2150 BCE
Middle Kingdom 2040 - 1640 BCE
New Kingdom 1550 - 1070 BCE
Ptolemaic Era 332 - 31 BCE
Translation of the Rosetta Stone by Jean-
François Champollion in 1822, after its
discovery by Bonaparte’s army in 1798-1799.
The text on the stone was written in three
scripts, Greek, demotic, and hieroglyphs.
The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard
Carter in 1922 sparked a renewed interest in ancient
Egypt or “egyptomania” particularly evident in the
architecture of the mid to late 1920’s
A small, but extremely fine example of this architecture is found in downtown
DeKalb. The Egyptian Theater, designed by Elmer F. Behrnes and built in the
late 1920s (opened 1929) is one of a handful of such buildings that still Stand.
Others include the famous Grauman’s Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. The
DeKalb theater had fallen into disrepair by the early 1970s, but was saved by a
group of concerned citizens who organized a fundraising campaign that
resulted in its being placed on the National Historic Register. Today it hosts
various films, events, and presentations.
7
More recently in the early 1960s, the funerary
temples of the great Ramses II and Queen
Nefertari were threatened by the rising waters of
the Nile due to the construction of a new dam.
The entire monument was dismantled, block-by-
block and reassembled 200m back and 65m up
from the swelling waterway.
Egyptian Canon of Proportions
Egypt favored using a formula, or canon, for rendering the human figure. Youthful bodies. Set proportions created with the use of a grid.
In 2D art (and relief): Profile view of head, pelvis, and
legs.
Frontal view of upper torso and eye
In 3D sculpture: Body shown more naturalistic, still
adheres to the same proportions as seen on the grid.
Bock form of the stone is retained. Is it true sculpture in the round, or really high relief??
Section view of the Great Pyramid of Khufu
The Great Pyramid stats:
775 feet per side
450 feet tall
2.3 million stones
2.5 tons per stone on
avg.
Biggest stones 20 tons
ea.
Built w/ ropes and
pulleys
Aligned w/ cardinal
compass points.
Mostly solid; small
burial chambers and
shafts.
Review of Egyptian Art Media:
Stone Sculptures
Paintings and hieroglyphs on walls and papyrus
Subject Matter and Form: Pharaohs and Gods dominate, lesser persons shown
infrequently
No “artistic freedom”. Canon of Proportions.
Content: Belief in a rational universe shown through mathematical,
structured artworks.
Magnifies the good qualities of the pharaohs and gods.
Celebration of life that continues into death
Designed to exist for all eternity