EGYPTIAN ART 3000 B.C.E.- 31 B.C.E.

Farming communities formed along the Nile during the Neolithic period - before 7000 B.C. From approximately 3000 B.C., Egypt was ruled by Pharaohs (kings). Artists worked for the state and its rulers. In addition artwork was part of the religion. They had to work under strict style, a set of common rules and guidelines regarding what how to draw artwork.

Egyptian art is said to be timeless. For nearly 3,000 years artists used many of the same artistic rules made by priests. In wall sculptures and paintings, figures are shown in an unnatural way. We have learned a great deal about everyday Egyptian life from the paintings and artifacts that have been found in tombs.

Common Rules of the Egyptian Style of Art  Tomb murals: Paintings of a person’s life in his/her tomb.  Linear picture plane: All the forms are in line. No background or foreground.

 Horror vacui: Fear of empty spaces. Art crowded with figures.  Hierarchical scale: Art showing more important figures larger than less important figures.  Geometric Regularity: Use of basic shape and a repetition of patterns.

 Natural and easy position of the human form: “Everything had to be represented from its most characteristic angle. [Consider] the effect which this idea had on the representation of the human body. The head was most easily seen in profile so they drew it sideways. But if we think of the human eye we think of it as seen from the front. Accordingly, a full-face eye was planted into the side view of the face. The top half of the body, the shoulders and chest, are best seen from the front, for then we see how the arms are hinged to the body. But arms and legs in movement are much more clearly seen sideways. That is the reason why Egyptians in these pictures look so strangely contorted. Moreover, the Egyptian artists found it hard to visualize either foot seen from the outside. They preferred the clear outline from the big toe upwards. So both feet are seen from the inside, and the man on [a] relief looks as if he had two left feet. It must not be supposed that Egyptian artists thought that human beings looked like that. They merely followed a rule which allowed them to include everything in the human form that they considered important. Perhaps this strict adherence to the rule had something to do with their magic purpose. For how could a man with his arm 'foreshortened' or 'cut off' bring or receive the required offerings to the dead?”

Vocabulary words:  Pharaoh: King of Egypt (thought to be a God) - means “Great house who shelters all his people.”  Book of the Dead: To help the dead on their journey to the after-life. Contained about 200 spells.

 Ka: The invisible soul of a dead person that goes to the after-life. It is kept “alive” by grave offerings from the living.  Hieroglyphics: Egyptian writing – made up of pictograms.  Cartouche: An oval or oblong frame that encircles a ruler’s name.

 Papyrus: Early form of paper made from the papyrus plant. Strips were placed together, then beaten flat.  Scribe: A man who wrote on papyrus or carved into walls. Like a secretary, performed any writing duties.

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