Download EGYPT AND MESOPOTAMIA

Importance of Geography
Contrast
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MESOPOTAMIA
Exposed state
Raging floods
Natural catastrophes
Uncertain life
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EGYPT
Protected lands
Predictable floods
None; stable climate
2 crops a year;
Healthy climate
Laws of nature static
Contrast continued
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MESOPOTAMIA
Afterlife a Threat
Live for present
Whimsical Gods
Legalistic Society
Hammurabi Code of
Law
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EGYPT
Continuation of life
Prepare for afterlife
Trustworthy Gods
Ethical Society
No code of law
Contrast Continued
• MESOPOTAMIA
• Warring heroes
(Gilgamesh)
• EGYPT
• Pharoah is theocratic
leader
ART CHARACTERISTICS
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MESOPOTAMIA
Ziggurat
Emphasis on exterior
Cylinder forms
Additive
Perceptual
Combative themes
Small scale sculpture
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EGYPT
Pyramids
Emphasis on interior
Rectantular forms
Subtractive
Conceptual
Natural themes
Monumental sculpture
ART CONTINUED
• MESOPOTAMIA
• Fatalistic: gloomy
view of life after death
• Ruler, a servant of god
• Emphasize here and
now
• Temporal structures
• EGYPT
• Life continues after
death; good life
• Pharoah, a god
• Prepare for afterlife
• Art of permanence
Mycerinus and his Queen
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Subtractive sculpture (stone)
Solid figures showing no internal space
Symbolic interaction
Simple surface
Symmetrical
Female, curved; male, angular
Intended for placement in the tomb
Subtext
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Power suggested by
static figures
Absence of decoration
Solid form
Interaction of figures
Conceptual representation