Ancient Egyptian Art

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Ancient EgyptianArt

• The 3 main periods in Egyptian history
• Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom

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The Art

• Who created and owned the art

Owned the art
Pharaoh
Produced writings/hieroglyphics
Priests/Scribes
Created the art
Craftspeople
Peasants
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1. Old Kingdom

• Architecture pyramids
• The first pyramids were constructed as successors
  to the low rectangular tombs, called mastabas.

• The first pyramid was the Step Pyramid of King
  Zoser designed by Imhotep- who was the first
  artist/architect in history.

• Step Pyramid a solid stone structure which
  consists of six huge steps of mastabas on top of
  each other.

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The Great Pyramids

• The Great Pyramids of Giza are a series of three
  large pyramids.
• Cheops was the first and largest built in 2530
  BC.
• It is 55 stories high and was the tallest
  structure in the world before modern skyscrapers.
• All three pyramids are protected by the Great
  Sphinx

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Sculpture

• Statues of people standing, sitting or seated on
  the floor.
• The carvings of the standing figures was cut from
  a single block of slate.
• Figures are stylized and formal appearance.
• Their pose is called frontal because both figures
  are facing and looking straight ahead.

Mycerinus and His Queen, about 2470 BC.
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2. Middle Kingdom

• Architecture shifted from pyramids to the
  construction of funerary temples.
• Art continued to flourish, with craftspeople
  still holding an honoured position in society.
• Craftspeople carved wood into figures, boats,
  weapons and other items.
• Example of wooden Funerary Barge typical
  boats that were buried with the dead, to be used
  as transportation in the afterlife.

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3. New Kingdom

• Described as the Golden Age in Egypts history.
• Continued to build funerary temples. Temples
  began to be built to worship the gods.
• Characteristics of art
• stylized figures
• use of registers figures are drawn in layers,
  like comic books.
• gods depicted as animals or half animals.
• The face is in profile , but the eye and torso
  face the viewer.
• Descriptive perspective is used most important
  figures are shown larger than the less important
  ones.

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Mask of King Tutankhamen

• King Tutankhamen became Pharaoh at the age of
  nine. He is Egypts most famous pharaoh because
  of his possessions/art found in his tomb.
• His tomb was discovered in the year 1922 by an
  archaeologist called Howard Carter.
• His tomb had never been robbed because its
  entrance was hidden by debris from later tombs.
• Tutankhamens mummy wore a solid gold portrait
  mask. It was inlaid with precious stones,
  coloured glass and imitation lapis lazuli - a
  semiprecious blue stone considered valuable by
  the Egyptians.
• Three mummy-shaped coffins nested inside the
  rectangular stone coffin. The mask comes from the
  innermost mummy case in the pharaohs tomb.

• The emblems on the forehead (vulture and cobra)
  and on the shoulders (falcon heads) were symbols
  of the Two Lands of Upper and Lower Egypt and of
  divine authority.