The Ancient Egyptians are known for many of the incredible aspects of their culture and everything they have made. Some of the well known ancient Egyptian relics are the ones like the ancient pyramids, the Great Sphinx of Giza, mummies, and their many forms of art. Ancient Egyptian art, most commonly the paintings, are one of the most recognized styles of art. Not only is Egyptian art beautiful, but it carries a huge deal of value and significance with it. A great portion of the time, the art has some kind of religious meaning to it. Consequently it is very difficult to discuss the art itself without delving into the various gods and goddesses presented in it. Something that particularly struck me about Ancient Egyptian art was their proneness to use animals in their art. Not only do they use the full figure of animals, but they also put individual parts on human bodies. This intrigued me because not many cultures have art that includes animals to this extent. I will be exploring why the Ancient Egyptians had animals in their art, and what it meant to them.
Something I noticed after viewing several pieces of Ancient Egyptian art is that a lot of it is religious. It only takes a basic knowledge and understanding of the Ancient Egyptians’ religion to know that they have many gods and goddesses. They are not unique in this way, as there are many other cultures and religious which have multiple deities. However, the way they portray their many gods through their art is very distinguishable and well-known. The use of animals is one of the features that make Ancient Egyptian Art stand out. The exact reason why the Ancient Egyptians used animals in their art may never be known, as it may be a combination of things, and they are no lon...
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...intended in some way. The animals they had in their art let them feel like their gods were with them, and it made them feel protected. This is also why they valued cats so much.
Works Cited
"Art in Ancient Egypt." Australian Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013. .
"The Painter in Ancient Egypt." Australian Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013. .
Lehner, Mark. "The Great Sphinx | Who Built It and When?" Ancient Egypt Research Associates RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Aug. 2013. .
Images Cited
Title page: http://www.animhut.com/articles/design-history-egyptian-art-episode-4/
1. http://www.animhut.com/articles/design-history-egyptian-art-episode-4/
2. http://travelingwanderlust.wordpress.com/tag/egyptian-religion/
age-old Pharaonic traditions) with elements of Greek culture and also made great innovations. Egyptian depictions tended toward the idealistic but stiff, with no attempt to likeness but with the influence of Greek culture, they started to emphasis on the face more than it the past. Smiles suddenly appear. Like on the head of the carved and painted wood featured a large face synonym of smile. It was round and painted in gold. The face was decorated with a fake beard, a wig painted in blue, and has black-lined eyes and eyebrows makes it look exotic. Colors were more expressive rather than natural: blue or gold association with precious materials indicated divinity because of its unnatural appearance; the use of black for royal figures expressed the fertility of the Nile from which Egypt was born. This is probably the reason why the coffin covered with a red net clothing above which many iconography, and gods and goddesses of the ancient Egypt were painted. Animals were also highly symbolic figures. For example, on the coffin of Pedi-Osiris above the painting of a goddess named Nut, there were paintings of a scarab beetle named Khepri, god of the morning sun, with wings and it ball of dung. On each shoulder of the wooden coffin featured paintings of a baboon that was raising its arms in a worshiping position. Also the paintings of two jackals, gods of embalming, appeared on the base of the coffin, representing veneration and protection of the deceased. Symbolism played an important role in establishing a sense of order. The fake beard in ancient Egypt was symbolic and meant wisdom, high rank, wealth, etc. In the usage of hierarchical proportion, the size of figures indicated their relative importance. The figures of gods and goddesses or the divine pharaohs, high officials were usually larger compared other figures: any servants and entertainers,
I visited the Oriental Institute of Chicago Museum, which contains various artifacts, I choose a Model Hippopotamus from Egypt. The hippopotamus is dated to Egypt’s Middle Kingdom, circa 1878 BC. According to wall text at the Oriental Institute of Chicago, hippopotamuses in Egyptian culture represented the enemies of the ruler. I was attracted to the Model Hippopotamus based on its size/shape, lines, texture, and the color.
Egypt is a city bound to its history and tradition. Portraiture in Egypt was the inspiration for many cultures and stood as heavy influence for the catalyst of portraiture development around the world. Portraiture in ancient Egypt was constant and predictable until the late eighteenth century when Amarna style portraiture was introduced. The Amarna style stands out in Egyptian history for its severe contrast and break in tradition. The rendering of the body changes completely and deviates from what is expected of Egyptian art. This falls into the same time when Amenhotep IV was introducing other changes into Egyptian culture as well. As Amarna style progresses it is accompanied by the institution of Egyptian henotheism. Over two thousand deities were to be abandoned during Amenhotep IV’s eighteen year reign. His name would become Akhenaten and the Amarna style would be grouped into a class of ancient art surrounding Akhenaten, his family, and the sole god Aten.
The feline was the most important animal given divine honors because it was admired for its energy or power, strength and agility (Ions, 103). Egyptians first domesticated cats around 2000 BCE in Egypt. This was essentially because of their instincts to catch and kill rats and other rodents (Michelle). Eventually these domesticated house pets surpassed other animals of its time and elevated its status to a worshipped deity. Goddesses that are often depicted with a lion or cat embodiment are; Mafdet, Bastet, Sakhemet, Tefnut (Pinch, 134). Egyptian gods depicted with a lion or cat embodiment are Atum-Ra and Bes. All w ere associated with the sun-god Ra, sometimes being identified as “The Eye of Ra”. Ra was viewed as one of the most important gods because the sun controls farming and crops (Pinch, 129). Egyptians considered cats as royalty and treated them as such through laws that protected them from any harm. Therefore, if any human ...
Egyptian art is infamous across the world - classified by the monumental pyramids, and the Sphinx. Although these are both valid forms of Egyptian art, they do not make up the entire artistic history of the country. On the contrary, perhaps the most replicated example of classic Egyptian art, from the Old Kingdom, can be found in their rendering of the human form. An interest in portraiture developed early in Egypt. (Gardner, 75) Whether painted on pottery, or cut into rock, the figures all had notably Egyptian characteristics. "The seated statue is one of only a very small number of basic formulaic types employed by the sculptors of the Old Kingdom." (Gardner, 75)
Art in Egypt was used for religious rituals mainly. Similar to this was the art in the form of architecture, which was mainly for churches, during the eleventh and twelfth centuries
Scott, N. The Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, Vol. 31, No. 3, The Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians (Spring, 1973), pp. 123-170
One of the most mysterious structures found in today’s world is the Great Sphinx of Egypt, located on the outskirts of the hustling city of Giza. Many archeologists and explorers spend their entire careers trying to answer many unknowns about the Sphinx such as, “Who built the Sphinx,” and “Why does it exist?” Although these questions do not have clear answers, there are many theories that try to crack the mysteries of the Great Sphinx.
Something I noticed after viewing several pieces of ancient Egyptian art is that a great deal of it is religious. It only takes a basic knowledge and understanding of the ancient Egyptians’ religion to know that they have numerous gods and goddesses. They are not exclusive in this way, as there are many other cultures and faiths which have multiple deities. However, the manner in which they portray their many gods through their art is very distinguishable and well-known. This could also be because of the style they use. The use of animals is one of the features that make a...
W. Raymond Johnson, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, (1996), pp. 65-82, Date viewed 19th may, http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3822115.pdf?&acceptTC=true&jpdConfirm=true
Egyptians were an astounding set of people woe helped shaping their culture and the rest of the world with the lack of modernized tools. This is translated through their arts, architecture and culture, thus guiding and building the foundation for contemporary society. In terms of history, Egyptians were and still are filled with a vast amount of history which has also contributed with the development unique and diverse society. Their development of religion and culture can be dated back to ancient times and is seen through their various ways of storytelling which has been passed onto generations. These forms of storytelling can be seen ancient Egyptians mythology. Mythology played an important role in ancient Egyptian history because it provided
Lehner, Mark. "The Sphinx: Who built it, And why?." Archaeology 47, no. 5 (1994): 30-47.
Egypt is one of the oldest and most complex civilizations of the world. Their religion and beliefs are fascinating and have been a mystery for centuries. Even today, there are some things that we still do not understand. In this research, I will investigate the basic concepts of Egyptian mythology and its gods.
Seemingly static in appearance, to the untrained eye, Egyptian Art is somewhat formal and blocky, with very little to no naturalism; in opposition to ancient western art such as Greek and Roman artistic traditions. (Neer, 2012) However, Egyptian Art serves a purpose that celebrates the afterlife as well as appreciating life. Egyptian visual imagery expressed animals not in the typically assumed static and rigid form, but in naturalistic dynamism that is largely ignored in general Egyptian Art scholarship. Ancient Egyptian art endures a steady artistic tradition and despite various changes and modification in style occurred during the 3,000 years pharaohs ruled; they are recognizably Egyptian in origin. What was wholly unique was the artistic