Art Egypt Study Notes

Pre-Dynasty Periods: Chalcolithic Period, Amration Period, Gerzean Period

Techniques and Characteristics of Dynasty Art:

Relief (Important objects would stick out from the background)

Significant Colours (Blue [water of Nile], Red [desert], Green [vegetation], Gold/Yellow [sun], Black [soil])

Human Proportions (18 square grid, for proportionate human beings, 14 square grid, for sitting figures,
21 square grid, after 26th dynasty)

Frontalism (Self-explanatory, consistent through all of Egyptian civilization)

Mortuary Artwork (As Egypt was a mortuary society)

Old Kingdom

-Introduced mortuary concepts

-Measured in cubits (Pharaoh’s would be 21 cubits)

-Pharaohs would look intimidating, Wives would look dependent

-Idealized

-Limited knowledge of artistic techniques

Middle Kingdom

-Introduced expression; fit the status of the country at the time

-Not many artefacts survived from the time

New Kingdom

-Pharaohs depicted as “superheroes” of the time

-Armana (new style of art); came with the change of religion by Akhenaten

-Pharaoh’s not idealized as Aten is supposed to be the only one who is perfect in the new religion

-After King Tut’s death, the new religion and art style is lost; the hated Akhenaten is shown as physically
flawed in artwork

Important Figures: Amun-Re (biblical figure Moses ), Ma’at (heart, intelligence, memory)

Egyptian Alphabet: 24 consonants, No vowel

Pharaohs names are always surrounded by cartouches; these were often followed by wish-formula’s
such as “may he live, prosper, and be in health”, “living eternally”, or “bestowed with eternal life”. Also,
they were followed by phrases that related to their life such as “beloved by Amun-Re

Crowns

Upper[white], Lower[red], and Both (when there is civil peace)

War Crown[blue and gold] and Vulture Crown[gold] (worn by women)

Gods: Anubis, Horus, Selkis, Re, Thoth, Hathor, Khephri, and Sakhmet

(Were often show with the body of a man or woman and a head or head-dress of an animal)

Ushatbi

-A funerary figurine that was placed in the tomb of the dead

-Used as a substitute for workers; were believed to be called upon in the afterlife to do manual labour
for the dead. Translates directly as “answerer”

-Used for around 2000 years starting from the Middle Kingdom

-To summon the ushatbi’s, spell # 472 from the Egyptian Book of the Dead (or Book of Coming Forth by
Day) would be used

Art in the 18th Dynasty

-The art depicted mostly sections of the Book of the Dead

-As immortality began to become questionable, the art showed how to become accepted into the
afterlife

-The art then changes significantly in the time of Akhenaten. The art stopped idealizing and depicted
more of the truth

-The sun disk, Aten, was the most important part of Akhenaten’s religion

-After Akhenaten’s Aten, he shifted back to Amun-Re. After Akhenaten’s reign, Egypt disregarded all his
changes to Egypt’s religion and went back to their previous ways

Timeline of New Kingdom

Ahmose (Unifies Egypt)-Amenhotep 1-Thutmose I-Thutmose II and Hatshepsut-Thutmose III-Amenhotep

IV or Akhenaten with Nefertiti-Semenkhare? Nefertiti? or Akhenaten’s Brother?-Tutankhamen-Aye and
Ankhasapaaten-Horenheb-Ramses I-Seti-Ramses II

Hatshepsut
-Wife of Thutmose II, who died early in his reign.

-Known as “God’s Wife Amun”, making her both wife and mother to Thutmose III, the son of Thutmose
II and a minor wife

-This made her controller of Egypt, even though Thutmose III was entitled Pharaoh

-She wore a false beard and dressed only from the waist down in some instances to give the queen the
image of a male, even though the underlying text always refers to her womanhood

-She took Hathor, a cow goddess, as her emblem. Hathor represents the goddess of the dead, sky, love,
and festivity as well as it was feminine

-Hatshepsut’s reign is often considered the “Party of Peace”, as she was concerned with fixing problems
with neighbouring countries such as the expedition to Punt

-She also took upon vast public works such as a canal running from the Niles to the Red Sea

-We are unaware how she died; though, after her death, many of her statues were destroyed

Thuthmose III

-Originally a priest, Thutmose III became a great military strategist and one of Egypt’s greatest warriors

-Thutmose III fought a battle at Megiddo, believed to be the place of the final conflict between good and
evil

-Paintings suggest he brought back 86 000 slaves to Egypt

-He was considered a military genius as he was the first real military strategist

-As Egypt became tired of war, his descendant was the first to pursue peaceful channels through
marriage

Amenhotep IV or Akhenaton

-Perhaps the most controversial Pharaohs in Egyptian history. He attempted to bring monotheism (the
belief of one god) to Egypt by directing religious resources from ancient gods to Aten, the symbol of the
sun disk

-In this Aten-worship, he brought light to the temples at Kanark, established temples in the East, and
depicted a new capital (Tell-el-Amarna). Thus, starting the Amarna period

-Unlike anthropomorphic or animistic Egyptian gods, Aten was a simple solar disk with rays extending
downwards (perhaps the first experiments into abstract art)

-The people in Egypt at the time could not understand this concept and therefore Akhenaton was the
only one who would worship this new god
-Akhenaton married Nefertiti, also a strong believer, and had six or seven daughters.

-The King and Queen shared the same chambers for the first time in the Amarna period

-As ma’at was considered the most important ideal, things began to be represented as they appeared in
art

-As Akhenaton became deeply involved in religious beliefs, Nefertiti was given credit for major reforms.
Though, what happens to Nefertiti is still unknown; some believe that she grew angry and moved north
when Akhenaton begun to return Egypt to its old religious beliefs

-The Egyptian empire began to disintegrate as Akhenaton became more careless and inconsistent.
Finally, he left the empire in chaos

-After his death, his name was wiped out and the old gods were in place once again

Tutankhamen

-His fame is due to his death and burial. When they found him, his coffin(s) were untouched even
though his tomb was vandalized. With examinations of the body, we can see that he was murdered by
blows to the front of the head

-A Pharaoh must prove himself to enter the afterlife through 12 different hell realms with pitfalls and
monsters he must successfully negotiate. The Pharaoh must be successful for the sake of all of Egypt

-After his death, his young wife Akhesenamen asks for a prince to marry her and claim the throne.
Though, the prince sent for her is murdered by Horemheb, the grand Vizier, and takes the throne for
himself with Mutnedjemet, Nefertiti’s younger sister. He then appoints Ramses, his general and Vizier,
as his male heir.

Ramses II

-Under this Pharaoh, Ramses the Great, begins narrative art in its earliest stages

Pyramids- Built in 3rd and 4th Dynasty in Old Kingdom (Starting in 2707 B.C.E.)They were built as a
stairway to heaven for the Kings

Djzor was said to have had the first pyramid ever

Amenhotep, under Djzor, was so intelligent (as he is holding a medical staff in many of his statues) that
he is thought to be the one who figured out how to build the pyramids for Djzor

Timeline of New Kingdom:

Ahmose (Unifies Egypt)-Amenhotep 1-Thutmose I-Thutmose II and Hatshepsut-Thutmose III-Amenhotep

IV or Akhenaten with Nefertiti-Semenkhare? Nefertiti? or Akhenaten’s Brother?-Tutankhamen-Aye and
Ankhasapaaten-Horenheb-Ramses I-Seti-Ramses II
Egypt had Greek and Roman Influence

Carter discovered King Tut’s tomb

Egypt was a mortuary society

Tutankhamen was the most famous Egyptian king

“Beloved of Amun-Re” and “Ma’at”

Ushatbi-Funerary Figure, Replacement of Servants, Book of Coming Forth by Day, Spell #472

Hatshepsut’s information

The Egyptian alphabet has no vowel and 24 consonants

Egyptian families were often Nuclear and were requested to adopt

Thuthmose III invented the Navy

Pharaoh is always larger than other people in paintings

Colours of Egypt- Red, Blue, Green, Gold/Yellow, and Black

Valley of the Kings- Burial Site for the Pharaohs in the 18 th Dynasty (they were not very slightly, so they
would not be raided)