PRIMITIVE

AND
EGYPTIAN
ART
Pr ehi s t or i c Ar t
35,000 B.C.E. to 1,500B.C.E.
 Prehistory- before writing.

The
Beginning of
Art
 Who were the artists?
• Cro-Magnon peoples from 30,000 BCE
are currently known as the world’s first
artists.
• They lived in caves when it was cold.
• Hunted animals for food, clothing, tools,
and shelter.
The Altamira Cave
 Cavepaintings
• Cave Paintings are found all over the
world. Western Europe, primarily
Southern France and Northern Spain,
are rich with caves containing Stone
Age wall paintings.
 The Art
• Rock paintings have been found to include
line drawings in charcoal and red ochre,
painted images, and negative images,
which are formed by painting the rock
area around an object, such as a hand.
 How were they made?
• These Paleolithic artists made paint out
of natural substances such as red and
yellow earth, different colored minerals,
and black charcoal. They would grind
these into a powder and mix with water
(scientists have found cave water
works really well for this).
 Subjects of Paintings

Aurochs- an ancient bull

Fish(rare)
Horses
Rhinoceroses and bison
The
Lascau
x
Caves
 Lascaux Caves
15,000-13,000BCE
Researchers
think that this
horse was part
of a magic
hunting ritual.
They believe
that the artists
threw spears at
the horse
because there
are marks on
the walls of the
cave.
 Las Cuevas de Las Piletas 28,000-8,000 BC
Located in Southern Spain

One of
the
caves
still
open
to the
public.
 Prehistoric Sculpture
Much more difficult than painting!

This bison was carved

These bison were carved out of out Of a reindeer horn.
rock. Each one is about two feet It’s About four inches
long. long.
 Stonehenge
A prehistoric rock monument.
Made of monoliths- large rocks.

Very mysterious-align with the sun-

cast shadows during solstices and
may have been a type of calendar.
 Created over time
Around 2000 BCE.

There are other

Stones circles but
This is the most
famous.
THE ART OF
ANCIENT EGYPT
BIG IDEA : ART REFLECTS RELIGION
AND THEIR BELIEF IN THE AFTERLIFE.
 WHO?
Communities were
made up of:
•Soldiers
•Slaves
•Priests
•Scribes
•Artists and craftsmen
•Farmers and herdsmen
•Pharaohs & Queens
•Gods/Godesses
 Pharaoh

•The leader was called a

pharaoh.

•The pharaoh was believed

to be half man, half god.

•The afterlife of the pharaoh

is an important theme in
ancient Egyptian art.
WHAT?

•The greatest architectural achievements of the

Ancient Egyptians were the pyramids.
•Pyramids were built as tombs for the pharaohs.
The pyramids contained the items that the
Egyptians believed that the Pharaoh would need
in the afterlife.
•Much of the ancient Egyptian art that remains
today was preserved in the pyramids.
Other Art created by Ancient Egyptians

• Egyptian people had a rich culture and loved to make art.

• The Egyptian people also made statues, relief carvings,
paintings, pottery, jewelry, sculptures and even coffins.
• Most ancient Egyptian art is found buried in the ground or
found in ancient Egyptian pyramids.
Statues and Sculptures
Jewelry
Paintings
Bas-Relief Carvings / Stele

Title: Seti I's Campaigns, Temple of Amun at Karnak, Thebes (exterior wall, north side of hypostyle).
Date: ca. 1280 BCE.
KING TUTANKHAMEN

• Tomb found in Valley of the

Kings.
• Dated back to 1327 B.C.E.
• The inner coffin is made
from hundreds of pounds
of gold, and decorated with
colored enamel, and
gemstones.
Burial Art – Sarcophagus, Masks, & Mummies
Do You Think
Ancient Egyptian
Culture Has Had An
Impact On Our Life
Today?
 Ancient Egyptian Culture Has Influenced Our
Lives In Many Ways.

• Some of our buildings are based on Egyptian architecture.

• Did you know there is a pyramid shaped hotel in Las Vegas?
• Some of our language comes from the Egyptian written language
of hieroglyphs.
• Sometimes people dress up in mummy costumes as well as wear
jewelry with Egyptian designs.
• Hollywood has filmed Egyptian based movies such as Cleopatra
and The Mummy.
• Song writers have written songs about Egyptian themes.
WHAT DO YOU THINK
“WALK LIKE AN
EGYPTIAN” MEANS?
Egyptian Artists Liked To Show Everything From
What They Thought Was The Best Possible
Viewpoint. Ancient Egyptian Artists Used A
Style Called Frontalism To Draw People.
FRONTALISM
• The face is from
a side or profile
view.
• The eye is from
a front view.
• The arms and
feet are from a
profile view.
• The shoulders
and chest are
from a front view.
Frontalism

Can you see the front and

profile views of these
Egyptian figures?
 Frontalism

Look for the characteristics of Frontalism in this work of art.

• The face is from a side or profile view.
• The eye is from a front view.
• The arms and feet are from a profile view.
• The shoulders and chest are from a front view.
To Draw An Ancient Egyptian Person
Just Follow These Steps...

• The face is from a side or

profile view.
• The eye is from a front view.
• The arms and feet are from a
profile view.
• The shoulders and chest are
from a front view.
What Is The Written
Language Of The
Ancient Egyptian
People?
HIEROGLYPHICS IS THE WRITTEN
LANGUAGE OF THE ANCIENT
EGYPTIAN PEOPLE.
• Hieroglyphs appear on tomb and
temple walls, statues, papyrus
(paper) and even jewelry.
• Text could be read from left to
right, right to left, or up and down
depending on which way the
symbols faced.
• Hieroglyphic writing is one of the
most beautiful systems of writing
ever created.
HOW DID PEOPLE LEARN
TO WRITE IT?
• Ancient Egyptians
would attend a special
school to learn to write
and read hieroglyphics.
• Egyptians who learned
how to write the
language were called
Scribes.
WHAT DID THEY USE?
• First, they cut a plant called
papyrus into thin layers. Then
they the papyrus strips flat and
pounded them with a mallet.
Finally, they used a smoothing
stone to smooth it out.
• They wrote on the papyrus
paper with reed pens which they
dipped into ink.
• They also carved and painted
hieroglyphics on tombs and
temple walls.
• They wore a
CARTOUCHE
 THE ROSETTA STONE
• The Rosetta Stone was found by
French soldiers who were rebuilding a
fort in Egypt in 1799. The Rosetta
Stone is believed to have been made
in 196 B.C.
• The Rosetta Stone was inscribed
with three different texts Greek,
Demotic, Hieratic. Each text says the
same thing.
• The Rosetta Stone text was written
by the priests in ancient Egypt to
honor the Pharaohs. It lists all the
good things the Pharaohs have done
for the people and priests.
Examples of Egyptian Hieroglyphics
WHEN YOU THINK OF
EGYPT, DO YOU
THINK OF PYRAMIDS?
THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 100
PYRAMIDS IN EGYPT

• A pyramid was built to

be the tomb of a king
called a pharoah.
• Secret chambers in the
pyramid held the king’s
mummy, coffins and
special items from the
king’s afterlife.
• Ancient Egyptian
people believed the
pyramid connected the
sky and the earth.
•The first pyramid was built for King Zoser. It was a “step
pyramid”. It was designed and built by an artist and architect
named Imhotep.
•Imhotep is the first architect whose name is recorded in history.
•This pyramid was built about 2600 BC.
•The pyramids were built using blocks of stone.
•Originally the exterior of the pyramids had a smooth quality. However,
due to time, wind, weather, etc. this smooth façade has worn away. You can
see a small remainder of the facade on the photo to the top left.
Egypt, El Giza,
Great Pyramid also known as "Pyramid of Cheops" or
"Khufu's Pyramid" 2600-2480 BCE, The base of the pyramid covers
about 13 acres. To build the Great Pyramid it took an about
2,300,000 dressed stone blocks (averaging 2.5 tons each) -- more
than any other structure ever built. The blocks were moved on log
rollers and sledges, and then ramped into place.
•The Great Pyramid was originally 481 feet high and each side was 756 feet long.
•Look at the size of these pyramids compared to the size of the people below.
•The inside of a pyramid
 Other Egyptian Architectural Structures

The ancient Egyptians also built beautiful temples.

•This is the Temple of Ra
• The Sphinx is another example of a Pharaoh (Khafre)
demonstrating his power.
•The massive size and the head of Pharaoh Khafre on the body
of a lion was intended to demonstrate the power of the
pharaoh.
•Carved from stone at the site and stands at 65 feet tall.

Pharaoh Khafre, c. 2600 B.C.

Diorite. 66 inches tall.
 Temple of Ra

Title: Hypostyle Hall of Temple of Amun-Ra, Karnak, Thebes.

Date: ca. 1290-1224 BCE.
 Other Egyptian Architectural Structures

Title: Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahri

Date: ca. 1478–1458 BCE.
Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
 Temple of Ramses II
Title: Temple of Ramses II, Abu Simbel. 19th Dynasty.
Date: ca. 1279-1213 BCE.
 Interior Temple of Ramses II
Title: Interior Temple of Ramses II, Abu Simbel. 19th Dynasty.
Date: ca. 1279-1213 BCE.
DO YOU KNOW
WHAT
MUMMIFICATION
MEANS?
MUMMIFICATION
MEANS TO PRESERVE A
BODY. • The Egyptian people
created mummies by
packing the dead with salt
and then wrapping the
body with linen cloth.
• The process of
mummification took about
70days.
• The mummified body
would be placed in a
wooden coffin. That
coffin would be placed in a
stone sarcophagus.
 Burial Art – Mummies

Mummy of Nes-mut-aat-neru.
From Deir el-Bahri, temple of
Hatshepsut; Third Intermediate
Period, mid-Dynasty 25, about
700-675 B.C.. Gift of the Egypt
Exploration Fund 95.1407a
Burial Art – Masks
Burial Art – Sarcophaguses
 Ancient Egyptian Sculpture
Sculpture In the Round
Statues in the round usually depicted the gods,
Pharaohs, or civic officials, and were composed with
special reference to the maintenance of straight lines

• Of the materials used by the Egyptian, stone was the

most plentiful and permanent

• Sculpture was often painted in vivid hues as well

• Cubic and frontal- echoes in its form the shape of the

stone cube or block from which it was fashioned,

• The front of almost every statue is the most important

part and the figure sits or stands facing strictly to the
front

Bust of Nefertiti
 Relief Sculpture
• Virtually all the wall-sculptures of the Ancient Egyptian Empire are in the form of bas-relief (low-relief)

• Relief-composition merely meant arranging the figures in horizontal lines so as to record an event or represent
an action.

• The principal figures were distinguished from others by their size - gods were shown larger than men, kings
larger than their followers, and the dead larger than the living.
Canopic Jars