Ancient Egypt, in the old kingdom of Egypt and the new Kingdom of Egypt exists two different types of portraits representing two royalty couples, from the old kingdom of Egypt there is the portrait of Menkaure and his wife khamerernebty. In the new kingdom of Egypt there is the portrait of Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, both differ in postures, proportions, size, and characteristics in the portrait itself, but both are originated from Egypt and Egypt’s royalty.
Portrait of Menkaure and Khamerernebty are represented in a block sculpture which can be view from the front, both left and right sides not the back, this portrait does not stand in a composite pose, though in a stiff emotionless pose, in the portrait Menkaure is in position in which his left foot is in front of his right foot, at the same time his posture is rigid that it seems he does not advance as if he was walking. Menkaure’s arms appear tightly locked by his torso and his hands in fists, in between his arms and legs as well as Khamerernebty’s, stone is seen as the portrait was carved out of stone as well as Menkaure represented with a ceremonial beard, and the places that are supposed to be negative spaces are left with stone
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In the portrait Akhenaton worships his god Aton, who appears as the sun at the top of the relief. At Aton’s end of his rays appears to be hands holding ankhs which were symbols of eternal life. In the scene of the relief Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti are holding their 3 daughters displaying affections in an Egyptian family, unlike in the old kingdom which the portraits of royalty couples were stiff and emotionless postures. The portrait of Akhenaten and Nefertiti does not correspond to the Egyptian canon as their proportions and physical characteristics were not
The difference between an archaic statue such as Kroisos (fig. 5-11) and a classical statue such as Doryphoros (fig. 5-42) may not seem very great in a single glance. In fact, you may not notice any differences in that one glance. Yet, if you were to look at them closely, you can see that these two statues actually have very little in common.
The statue of Khafre is an example of how pharaohs utilized their wealth to elaborate the power they possessed while they were alive and to utilize while they were dead. They ordered statues to be made in their name to decorate the valley temple. The valley temple is a funerary setting in which Khafre ordered 23 statues to be made for it. In this case, Khafre’s statue was made and place near the
The Statue of a kouros depicts a Greek man in the nude. Although he looks like a man, the large scale, and the miss proportioned features makes it unnaturalistic. The toes are too long, the genetalia is unrealistically small, and the joint lines are exaggerated.
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)
The painting depicts two figures, the one of a woman and of a man. The dominating central figure is the one of the woman. We see her profile as she looks to the left. Her hands are crossed in a graceful manner. She has blonde hair and her figure is lit by what seems to be natur...
Let’s begin with what was going on during the time period for each sculpture. During the 2458-2446 BCE. Userkaf was thriving over his brother Sahure, and he became the new ruler of Egypt. In the start of 2446 BCE, Neferirkare beings his dominant over Egypt. King Sahure and Nome God is a high relief it is still attached to a surface of a stone. The Pharaoh sitting on his thorn wearing a Nemes headdress (it is usually blue and gold striped), fake beard. The king has an emotionless facial expression. It was made for a decoration for the king pyramid complex. The symbol behind this statue could be the gathering of the Nome gods form Upper and Lower Egypt around t...
Images of ruling ancestry were important chiefly art forms, so were images of existing rulers. In some cases, the very act of ordering a portrait was part of a leader's assumption of responsibilities and entitlements. Among the Kuba people a tradition of royal portraiture, known as ndop settled around 1700 and lasted until colonial times. During the time in power of each Kuba king, a wooden sculpture of monumental size was carved that depicted ‘him’ placed in a throne burdened with trimmings of royal status. The meeting of existing ndop sculptures represented the reign of Kuba kings, and the accumulation of the current ruler's image paved his place within that line.
The Statue of Yuny and Renenutet is a male and female sculpture. It consist of 2 statue figures. Both figures are facing frontwards. Both statues have eyes in an almond shape figure. The couple Yuny and Renenutet are sitting down together on a bench with Renenutet right arm around Yuny shoulder. The chair of Yuny and Renenutet is a breach in which their bodies’ curves are call to attention. Both figures have their feet placed on the floor. But in front of Yuny and Renenutet feet we see inscription similar to that ones he has on his skirt.
Carved from alabaster the over-life-sized statue shows a idealized depiction of ruler Khafre sitting eloquently in his throne. Riddled with indicative symbols and motifs the written language of the ancient Egyptians allows for historian to interoperate the meanings and purpose of the sculpture, and decipher the statements of divinity and the king power left behind by this ancient people. This funerary statue represents Khafre’s eternity a well as utilizing the expensive material as a testament of his importance and
Both figures are in a very traditional, standing pose for the time period in which they were created. The sculpture of Augustus is based on the Greek classical statue of the Spear Bearer or Doryphoros by Polykleitos. He is standing in contrapposto, a very classical standing pose wherein the weight of the body is shifted naturally so the figure’s weight is more on one leg, with the other leg slightly bent behind and the hips tilted. Mycerinus and Kha-merer-nebty II are both in the standard Egyptian canon standing pose, in which the figures are rigidly frontal with the pharaoh’s arms down at his sides and fists clenched. Like Augustus, one leg is slightly ahead and one is behind, but there is no contrapposto, the figure’s weight is shared equally by both legs and the hips are squared and level.
The best bronzes that have been found have all been recently discovered and recovered from ancient shipwrecks.The Antikythera Youth was recovered from the same shipwreck as the Antikythera device. The basics features of Classical Idealist sculpture is rooted in simplicity of form and the illusion of movement. Unlike the Sounion Kouros and Archaic sculpture, which all had a stiff fixed form, Classical Idealist statues were open (Briers 1980; 214). The simplified bodily features are evident in the static anatomy of Classical sculpture, as muscles are not shown to be expanding or contracting (Briers 1980; 216) Movement is alluded to by the positioning of the arms and the contrapposto stance, often with one leg placed back at an angle balanced on the toes (Briers 1980; 223). By positioning the leg this was the entire body is moved slightly angling the hips all the way up to the shoulders and neck. While there is not direct movement of the sculpture, this contrapposto stance gives the illusion of movement. Like the body, the face of these sculptures followed specific guidelines the style taking its name after the sculpture Phidias. The Phidian face as it is called shows no emotion, always portrayed in a stoic and calm rendering, a flat forehead flows down to the nose with no bridge (Briers 1980 216, 218-219). All of these features of Classical Idealism are present on the Antikythera Youth, creating a sculpture that may not be realistic, but a sculpture that captures the eye and peaks one’s
The Egyptians were big lovers of all beauty and fashion. They were such lovers of beauty that some of their names were based on the word ‘nefer’, which means beautiful. Examples of such were Nefert, Nefertiti, and Nefertari. The goddess associated with adornment was “Hathor the Golden”, who is seen as the ideal of beauty in love and poetry of the time.
Nakht and Family Fishing and Fowling is dated 1400-1390 BC. It was found in Thebes. It is a facsimile done in Tempera paint on paper. It is 200 cm by 153 cm and is on a scale of 1:1. The accession number is15.5.19e, l–m. It was Painted by Norman de Garis Davies, Lancelot Crane, and Francis Unwin for the Egyptian Expedition of the Metropolitan Museum of Art before 1915. This facsimile is a copy of a wall in Nakht’s tomb in Thebes. It is a split scene of Nakht and his family fishing in one part and fowling in another and then shows Nakht and his wife seated on the left side of both. There is also a scene of the process of making wine. The canon of proportion used in this painting is more closely related to that of the old kingdom when there was a universal canon used amongst all of the artist at the time. The limbs are still slightly more elongated but it is far more similar than some of the painting from the middle kingdom when the traditional canon of proportion was disregarded completely. The scenes are also very similar to some of the paintings you would find in the old kingdom mastabas and other types of tombs. They depict activities the family would be doing in the afterlife such as fishing and fowling. It was important to include these types of paintings in the tomb to ensure that one could still enjoy the same activities after they died. The scenes include Shabti servants as well. Shabti figures are a tradition used all through Egyptian history. One would include small figurines in their tomb so that they could have servants do the hard labor whilst they enjoy the things they like to do like hunting or fishing. The hieratic scale is also present in this piece as well as a very linier page set up. The scene ...
Queen Nefertiti lives up to her name by being known for her beauty, leading to the creation of her bust. The life of Queen Nefertiti is an Egyptian mystery. She is the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten, who reigns in the 14th century B.C. There is almost no information about the Queen’s life. Researchers were not able to identify Nefertiti’s ancestors either. Some researchers believe that Nefertiti is from Egypt, while others believe she is of Syrian descent. Egyptologists believe that she is the daughter of the Courier, Ay. The Bust of Nefertiti is still one of the most iconic masterpieces from Ancient
This sculpture seems to epitomize the ideal male human form. All of the body parts seem perfectly proportioned and the muscles are beautifully defined as if the image were of an athlete. The image is youthful with a calm demeanor. The right missing forearm looks as if it used to be resting at his side, while the left elbow was probably at a 90 degree angle, with the hand holding something. The slight bend in the left leg gives the impression of movement, as if the image was frozen while walking. The counterpoised stance adds an air of nobility to the "man".