Egyptian Art vs. Sumerian Art

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Recommended: Role of art in religion

When comparing two forms of artwork, it may be quite difficult to tell them apart. And when those artworks are thousands upon thousands of years old, it certainly does not help the issue. When looking at both Egyptian and Sumerian art, there is certainly a resemblance to some degree. Both are from before our time, and both express the beliefs and culture of their respective lineage. But if you delve deeper, you can certainly start to see a difference. Egyptian art is known widely for its hieroglyphics, while Sumerian art may be seen as focusing more on the naturalistic views on the human form. Both these cultures deserve the utmost respect, for their artwork to survive through the millenniums as they have, we can only give credit where credit is due. Some may not know the reason behind many of these artworks, but during these time periods, you did not make something for no reason at all. Everything had a purpose, or it was considered a waste of precious resources. Since Egyptian art is perhaps the most well known, we will delve into it's culture and reasons behind the artwork first.
Egyptian art is known widely for its depiction on telling a story with artwork. The Egyptian hieroglyphics portray this perfectly, though the main focus of these interesting forms may have a different meaning than some are used to. This is also true for the way many Egyptians portray their human figures. There is a continuous quality about them that has spanned many centuries. The figures are almost always stiff, posed in a manner that shows authority and drives the point of the artwork home. Even the astounding hieroglyphics are depicted in a manner that shows the figure at the best angle, even if it is contorted. Most of them are based around ...

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...do what pleases us? Do we put effort into things that do not matter? It can almost certainly be said that we do not, just as the Sumerian and Egyptian cultures did. Perhaps this means we are all simply human, or perhaps we are closer to our past than we want to believe.

Works Cited

German, Senta. "Ziggurat of Ur." Smart History. N.p.. Web. 12 Feb 2014. .

Moortgat, Anton. The Art of Ancient Mesopotamia. 1st. New York: Phaidon Publishers Inc., 1969. Print.

Sweeney, Emmet John. The Pyramid Age. New York: Algora Pub, 2007. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) Web. 10. Feb 2014.

The Judgement of Hu-Nefer. 1995. Photograph. British Museum, London, UK. Web. 12 Feb 2014.

The Standard of Ur. N.d. Photograph. Penn MuseumWeb. 12 Feb 2014. .

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