Download Introduction to Ancient Egypt Visit the links below (they all link off the

Introduction to Ancient Egypt
Visit the links below (they all link off the same lesson)
Read the brief paragraph for each section (reproduced below) and view each of the examples
Essential vocabulary words and concepts are in bold type
http://www.historylink101.com/lessons/art_history_lessons/egypt_art1.htm
Sculpture of Ancient Egypt
Examples:
Colussus of Memphis
Sphinx, Luxor
Canopic Jars
Colossi of Ramses II, Abu Simbel
Great Sphinx
"The message of the work of art had to be clear: everyone from scribes to peasants had to understand at
first glance that the great image of the pharaoh was a sign of his limitless power." Most art work was done
for the pharaoh or his wealthy government officials. The large works of sculpture were often displayed at
temples, which the pharaoh would build to their favorite deity. Sculptures were stiff, formal, and solemn.
The Egyptians did not strive for realistic depiction, but instead wanted to present a powerful image.
Egyptians used the size of their sculptures to show the social order. The pharaoh was larger then life size,
scribes and court officials were life size, and workers and peasants always shown working. Many of the
smaller statues were constructed out of slate which allowed them to survive over time, while the enormity of
other sculptures helped them to survive. The Great Sphinx was carved out of a rock outcropping with the
paws added on later from separate rocks.
http://www.historylink101.com/lessons/art_history_lessons/egypt_art2.htm
Painting of Ancient Egypt
Examples:
Man Kneeling Before Osiris, Tomb of Pashed
Osiris and Atum Seated with Offerings
Anubis Finishing Mummification, Tomb of Amennakht
Dead Man Standing in Barge of the Sun
King Ai Opening Mouth of King Tutankhamen
Anubi
s
Most of the painting of Ancient Egypt that has survived were found in tombs of the pharaohs or high
governmental officials. The art is know as funerary art because it is in tombs and depicts scenes of the
afterlife. Tomb paintings were of everyday life until the New Kingdom about 1550 BC to 1020 BC. During
the New Kingdom the the paintings showed different levels of the Egyptian society as well as items the
deceased would need in the afterlife. For example servants, boats, and food would be painted to help the
deceased in their trip through the afterlife. "To assist the dead person in his or her transition before the
tribunal of Osiris was the Book of the Dead, a roll of papyrus containing religious, and magical text." This
and other items left in the tomb would assist the deceased in their journey in the afterlife.
Much of the Egyptian painting was a mixture of sculpted reliefs which were painted. Meaning the
Egyptians would first carve the rock and then paint the scene over the carved surface. Egyptian depiction of
people is very consistent in their proportions and views of the people. The reason is that the Egyptians used a
formula to paint people. "Egyptians artists used this method to keep figures in proportion. They divided a
sheet of papyrus into nineteen rows of squares. Then they drew the figure using the first three rows of squares
for the area between the forehead and the neck, the next for the shoulder to the knee, and the last six for the
lower limbs and feet." In this way human paintings from different artists over a long period of time retained
the same appearance.
Art I - Ancient Egypt
Source: http://www.historylink101.com/lessons/art_history_lessons/egypt
http://www.historylink101.com/lessons/art_history_lessons/egypt_art3.htm
Pyramids of Ancient Egypt
Examples:
Mastabas
Bent Pyramid
Djoser Step Pyramid
Great Pyramid
The rich and famous of Egypt were buried in a building known as a Mastabas. A Mastabas was a flat
roofed building with sloping sides. It had a shaft in the middle of the building down to another chamber
where the body and goods of the deceased would be housed.
Djoser was the first pharaoh to build a pyramid for his burial place. Originally Inhopet, the designer,
built a large Mastabas for Djoser. On the Mastabas he then constructed a four step pyramid. Later it was
expanded again to a six step pyramid which still can be seen today. The step pyramid is rectangular with six
levels over 195 feet in height. He built the pyramid about 25 miles south of current day Cairo at a complex
know as Saqqara.
In the Forth Dynasty the pyramid changed to the smooth pyramids of which the Cheops and is the
most famous near Cairo. The Cheops pyramid measures 479 feet high. It has 2,300,000 stones each
weighing an average of 2.5 tons. To quarry the stone, small holes would be drilled into rocks in a strait line.
Then wood wedges would be placed in the holes and water would be added to them. The water would cause
the wood to expand and eventually break the rock along the line of holes. The rocks for the pyramid. which
were quarried down river would be transported by boat to the pyramid site. The rocks would be placed on
logs, and pulled to the pyramids, and up dirt ramps and put into place. The stone would then be finished to fit
in with those around it. They were able to lay an average of 285 stones a day. The preciseness in which the
pyramids were built is amazing. The total variance of each side if the pyramid is only eight inches.
http://www.historylink101.com/lessons/art_history_lessons/egypt_art4.htm
Architecture of Ancient Egypt
Examples:
Temple of Hathor
Hatshepsut Temple
Temple of Isis
Temple of Abu Simbel
Esna, Mubia
The Egyptians stopped using the pyramids for burial tombs because, in spite of good precautions, they
continued to be vulnerable to robbers. During the New Kingdom, at the height of Egyptian power, the
pharaohs began to build underground tombs in the Valley of the Kings. It was in the Valley of the Kings
where the tomb of King Tut was found by Carter in the early 1900's. The importance of the tomb was that it
was the first tomb, which was not looted by grave robbers. It survived, nearly untouched, because of it was
buried by a collapsed temple.
During the New Kingdom the large temples of Hatshepsut, Luxor, and Karnak were built in or near
Thebes. Most of the Egyptian temples have a very heavy look to them with very large columns which are
relatively close to each other. The kind of stone the Egyptians used was not able to hold heavy weight like the
marble used in Greece and Rome. Because of this, the spans between supporting columns had to be short to
support the weights of the roofs.
http://www.historylink101.com/lessons/art_history_lessons/egypt_art5.htm
Conclusion
Egyptian art and architecture have a strong reflection of the culture from which they were produced.
The power of the pharaoh and his position in society is clearly reflected in the large projects that they were
able to complete. The pharaoh was the center of the Egyptian society.
Art I - Ancient Egypt
Source: http://www.historylink101.com/lessons/art_history_lessons/egypt