1. Grade 9 – Art History
Egyptian Art

2. Introduction
Egyptian Art alternates between conservative and innovative
The history of Egypt is divided into dynasties of rulers
What is a dynasty?
A succession of rulers from the same family or line is called a Dynasty.
The history of Egypt is divided into dynasties of rulers
What is a dynasty?
A succession of rulers from the same family or line is called a Dynasty.

3. Basic Overview of Ancient Egypt
Predynasty
Old Kingdom
Step Pyramids
The Great Pyramids
The Great Sphinx
Menkaure and his Queen
Middle Kingdom
New Kingdom
Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
King Akhenaten and Nefertiti
Tutankhamun
Ramesses II

4. Predynasty Predynasty: c.3100-2649 BC
Major Events: Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt
Dynasties: I (c.3100 BC) II

5. Predynasty Egypt was still learning the use of bronze tools
It was originally divided into territories
After some time the territories merged to form two rival kingdoms: Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt
Around 3000 B.C. the Upper Egyptian kings conquered Lower Egypt and combined the two realms.
Egypt was still learning the use of bronze tools
It was originally divided into territories
After some time the territories merged to form two rival kingdoms: Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt
Around 3000 B.C. the Upper Egyptian kings conquered Lower Egypt and combined the two realms.

6. King Na’rmer One of the kings that unified Egypt
His accomplishments were sculpted onto the Palette of King Na’rmer
It is composed of relief
sculpture and
hieroglyphics
Image to know:
* Palette of King Na’rmer (both sides), Slate, c B.C.
* Palette of King Na’rmer (both sides), Slate, c B.C.

7. The Palette of King Na’rmer
The front:
Na’rmer is wearing a crown of Upper Egypt
He is about to slay a defeated opponent and two others are held captive below him
The symbols near Na’rmer’s head again represent the victory over Lower Egypt
Na’rmer is barefoot, symbolizing holy ground and more of a ritual act than a physical act
The front:
Na’rmer is wearing a crown of Upper Egypt
He is about to slay a defeated opponent and two others are held captive below him
The symbols near Na’rmer’s head again represent the victory over Lower Egypt
Na’rmer is barefoot, symbolizing holy ground and more of a ritual act than a physical act

8. The Palette of King Na’rmer
The back:
The king is again depicted barefoot and is now wearing the crown of Lower Egypt
In front of him are subjects walking to inspect beheaded bodies of prisoners
At the bottom Na’rmer is depicted as a bull trampling an enemy and knocking down a citadel
The meaning of the centre is ambiguous
It is debated that the beasts represent a union of the two kingdoms of Egypt
The back:
The king is again depicted barefoot and is now wearing the crown of Lower Egypt
In front of him are subjects walking to inspect beheaded bodies of prisoners
At the bottom Na’rmer is depicted as a bull trampling an enemy and knocking down a citadel
The meaning of the centre is ambiguous
It is debated that the beasts represent a union of the two kingdoms of Egypt

9. The Old Kingdom The Old Kingdom: c.2649-2150 BC
Major Events: Pyramids built
Dynasties: III (c BC) - Djoser
IV (c BC) – Sneferu, Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure
V (c BC)
VI (c BC)

10. The Start of the Pyramid...
As early as the Fourth Dynasty, wealthy individuals and kings would be buried in mastabas
Image = example of a mastaba
A mastaba (from the Arabic word for “bench”) is a square-shaped mound faced with brick or stone built above a burial chamber

11. Above ground, a mudbrick superstructure was built with an offering chapel attached
The burial chamber was below ground, surrounded by storerooms filled with goods for the use of the deceased in the Afterlife
Image = showing the interior structures of the mastabas with the chapel above ground and the burial chamber below ground

12. Royal mastabas became quite large and their exteriors sometimes resembled that of a royal palace
During the Third Dynasty, the mastabas developed into Step Pyramids
The best known, and possibly the first, is that of King Djoser
King Djoser directed Imhotep to build a great complex which would contain his royal tomb

13. The Step Pyramid
The mudbrick mastaba developed into a stone-built tower
It is a solid structure with underground burial chambers
It is considered the beginning of pyramid structures
Image to know:
* Imhotep, Pyramid of King Djoser, Saqqara, c B.C.
* Imhotep, Pyramid of King Djoser, Saqqara, c B.C.

14. It declares the pharaoh’s supreme power and divine status
It served to bridge the gap with the heavens by serving as a “stairway” (steps) for Djoser

15. The Great Pyramids
Djoser’s successors adapted the Step Pyramids to a smooth-sided shape
The Great Pyramids at Giza were built during the Fourth Dynasty
They originally had an outer casing of carefully dressed stone, which has disappeared except near the top of the pyramid of Khafre (the middle pyramid)
Image to know:
* The Great Pyramids, Giza:
(left) Menkaure, c B.C
(centre) Khafre, c B.C.
(right) Khufu, c B.C.
* The Great Pyramids, Giza:
(left) Menkaure, c B.C
(centre) Khafre, c B.C.
(right) Khufu, c B.C.

16. The three differ slightly from one another in scale
The burial chamber is located near the centre instead of underground
The Pyramids are surrounded by other pyramids and mastabas
Bottom image = differences between mastabas, step pyramids, and the great pyramids
Right image = the location of the great pyramids with surrounding mastabas

17. Who actually built the pyramids and how did they move the stones?
Slaves or farmers in the off season?
Logs to roll? Pulleys? Ramps?
It is highly debated as to how the pyramids were actually built and who built them exactly:
Some say it was the slaves or farmers who built them using ramps or pulleys to move the stones up
Other sources say it was built by free men who worked on it in their spare time and were fed, clothed, and housed by the king
Pyramids usually take about 20 years to build

18. Important Features of the Pyramids
Central features of a great pyramid

19. The Great Sphinx
Next to the valley temple of the Pyramid of Khafre stands the Great Sphinx
Carved from rock, it is an even more impressive symbol of divine kingship than the pyramids
The royal head rising from the body of a lion reaches a height of 65 feet and its length is 150 feet
Image to know:
* The Great Sphinx, Giza, c B.C.
* The Great Sphinx, Giza, c B.C.

20. The head is wearing a nemes (the striped head covering worn by kings)
Over time, damage has occurred to the face and body
The Sphinx has been undergoing restoration, however
The Sphinx was also covered up to its head in sand but was uncovered by Tuthmosis IV who dreamt that if he cleared it, he would be king

21. King Menkaure and His Queen
An example of cubic portraiture
The artist would have marked the surface of the block with a grid and would have drawn the front, top, and side views of the statue on it, then would have worked inward until the views met
These portraits were thought to be inhabited by the ka
Is a good example of the comparison between male and female beauty as interpreted by the artist
Image to know:
* King Menkaure and His Queen, Slate, c B.C.
* King Menkaure and His Queen, Slate, c B.C.

22. The Intermediate Periods and The Middle Kingdom
1st Intermediate Period: c BC
Major Events: Fall of Phaoronic power and a de-unified Egypt
Dynasties: VII and VIII (c BC)
IX and X (c BC)
The Middle Kingdom: c BC
Major Events: Re-unification of Egypt and the Hyksos takeover
Dynasties: XI (c BC)
XII (c BC)
XIII and XIV (c )
2nd Intermediate Period: c BC
Major Events: The reign (and subsequent banishment) of Hyksos kings and the reign of Theban kings
Dynasties: XV and XVI – Hyksos kings
XVII and XVIII (c BC) – Theban kings

23. Troubling Times...
Centralized pharaonic power collapsed at the end of the Sixth Dynasty, around 2150 B.C.
Egypt then entered a period of political disturbances and ill fortune that was to last almost 700 years
Egypt was divided into dozens of independent states where power was in the hands of local or regional overlords
This revived the old rivalry between Upper and Lower Egypt
Although Egypt was reunited around 2040 B.C., the authority and power of the pharaoh had changed

24. The most important change in this period was the shift from pyramids to funerary temples
They were designed to hold the mummies of the rulers and were constructed so that part of the temple was cut into the cliff and part was outside
Image to know:
*Plan of Mentuhotep's Mortuary Temple, Deir-el-Bahari, c B.C.
*Plan of Mentuhotep's Mortuary Temple, Deir-el-Bahari, c B.C.

25. The New Kingdom The New Kingdom: c.1552-1069 BC
Major Events: Royal tombs built in the Valley of the Kings, great temples built, expansion of Egyptian empire, and emergence of new art style
Dynasties: XVIII (c BC) – Ahmose, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun
XIX (c BC) – Ramesses I and II
XX (c BC)

26. Expansion...
Although the land was now united, there were still standing armies in some areas, and some aristocrats did not hesitate to use force
Soon after the Twelfth Dynasty, Egypt was taken over by the Hyksos (a group of Asiatic peoples)
They introduced the horse and chariot to Egypt
King Ahmose of Thebes defeated the Hyksos and forced them to withdraw from Egypt
Because Egypt was once again united under strong kings, the country extended its frontiers to the east (hence, the New Kingdom)
This expansion allowed for a wide variety and flavour of styles and quality in its art

27. The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
A revival of Middle Kingdom architectural forms to signify royal power, unity, and stability
Made of terraced walls, colonnades, sculptured reliefs, passageways, and large open terraces
Image to know:
*The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Deir-el-Bahari, c B.C.
Walls inside the temples were painted
Tombs of pharaohs were now secretly located in these temples as pyramids were too easily robbed
*The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Deir-el-Bahari, c B.C.

28. King Akhenaten
During the reign of the Eighteenth Dynasty the emphasis of religion changed radically
Amenhotep IV attempted to elevate a single deity, the Aten, to the status of sole god and changed his name to Akhenaten (“Effective for the Aten”)
He closed the Amun Temples (which gained vast power and posed a threat to royal authority), and moved the capital the central Egypt
The Amun cult had gained so much power that they posed a threat to the royal authority
Amun was the god of Thebes

29. Life-giving rays of sunlight connected to Aten (the sun-disk)
Intimate domestic scene possibly meant for a shrine in a private household
Life-giving rays of sunlight connected to Aten (the sun-disk)
An example of the Amarna style
A greater sense of realism
A new sense of form that seeks to unfreeze the traditional immobility of Egyptian Art (think back to the figures depicted in the Palette of Na’rmer)
Image to know:
*Akhenaten and His Family, Limestone, c B.C.
*Akhenaten and His Family, Limestone, c B.C.

30. The bust of Nefertiti also holds true to the new style of the time
Greater realism and elegance
Symmetrical face
Image to know:
*Queen Nefertiti, Limestone, c /5 B.C.
(Left eye was never finished)
*Queen Nefertiti, Limestone, c /5 B.C.

31. Tutankhamun Ascended to the throne at the age of nine
Helped restore the old religion
Died at the age of eighteen
Is the only pharaoh whose tomb has been discovered almost completely intact
Tutankhamun is known for his spectacularly lavish coffin

32. Ramesses II
After the restoration of the old religion, the rulers of the New Kingdom devoted their architectural energies to building huge temples of Amun
The centre of the Amun cult was located in the region of Thebes (specifically at Karnak and Luxor)
Vast temple complexes that were started in these areas in the Middle Kingdom were enlarged during the Nineteenth Dynasty

33. The temple complexes, completed under the rule of Ramesses II, were enclosed by high walls and consisted of a facade with a massive entranceway called a pylon
The pylon led to a series of courts and pillared halls, with the temple (a series of symmetrically arranged halls and chapels) just beyond it
Within the temple there would be a cult statue of the god the temple was dedicated to
Image to know:
*Temple of Ra, Luxor, c. 13th Century B.C.
Even though some the design and construction of some temples had begun in the Middle Kingdom, Ramesses claimed ownership over them
The pylon was a new feature added by Ramesses
*Temple of Ra, Luxor, c. 13th Century B.C.

34. Beyond the New Kingdom
From about 1069 B.C. to 332 B.C., Egypt saw a sweeping change of rulers and invasions which left the country divided and confused
From about 332 B.C. to 31 B.C., Egypt again was taken over and saw another change in rulers ranging from Alexander the Great to Ptolemy and, finally, to becoming a part of the Roman Empire
**This final slide was added so that you could tell your students that Ancient Egypt did not end with the New Kingdom**