Characteristics of ancient Egyptian art and factors of ancient Egyptian art

Characteristics of ancient Egyptian Art

         First: In the pre-dynastic era and the era of the first and second dynasties:

- Distance from simple primitive art topics

Arranging multiple scenes in successive rows, one above the other, separated by straight lines

- The difference in the size of people according to their social status (owner - minister - employee - ordinary person)

- Filming from the side was preferred because it allows highlighting the different details of the human body

- Putting the feet of people on the ground while the person is in they state of walking and this is contrary to nature

- Representing the king's victory over his enemies, we see him taking a wide step while holding a combat suppressor in his hand and hitting one of the enemies kneeling in front of him. This scene continued throughout the ages of ancient Egypt and also in the scenes of the Greek and Roman eras

                          Examples of pieces of art from that period include:

 A - In the pre-dynastic era: examples of this appeared on knife handles and combs that contained primitive drawings such as trees, boats, animals, and birds. (Herakonpolis - Kom Al-Ahmar)

B - In the era of the first and second dynasties: an example of this is the head of the Scorpion King's suppressor, which was found in Hierakonpolis, and the Salat of King Narmer (the Egyptian Museum), which is considered the last of the engraved panels. We also find the royal funerary paintings, most of which were found in Abydos and Helwan, of which two large paintings were placed in front of the cemetery, and these paintings bore the name of the king inside the facade of the palace surmounted by the falcon Hor Or the god Set (the serekh), and examples of these royal paintings are the painting of Queen Merit Nate (the first family) and the painting of King Jet (the second family). As for the paintings of individuals, they included their names and sometimes their titles. 

                                         Second: in the era of the Old Kingdom

The art of engraving and painting in the era of the Old Kingdom reached a great degree of accuracy and mastery, so we find from the era of the Third Dynasty an inscription representing King Djoser from his funeral group, depicting him performing a funeral ritual of his own There are also inscriptions of one of the senior officials of the state in the era of this king, and he is called (Hasi Ra). These inscriptions, which were carved on wood, are represented by simplicity and highlight the advantages of art in this era.

In the era of the Fourth Dynasty, drawings and inscriptions are depicting various aspects of daily life, such as hunting birds, fish, animals, animal husbandry, farming, harvesting, winemaking, and some small works such as carpentry, goldsmithing, baking, shipbuilding, and others.

One of the most famous beautiful scenes is the one that was found in Meidum, which is called (Oz Medium), in which the artist was able to depict the gait of geese as they lean and waddle, and distinguished between their forms in the best colors (the view in the Egyptian Museum)

As for the art of sculpture in the era of the Old Kingdom, the statues varied into four types: (individual statues - family groups - tripartite statues - deceptive statues).

 1- Individual statues: were royal or private, sitting with one hand spread out on one thigh and the other flexed on the chest, or standing in a walking manner, with the left leg forward.

2- The family group: whether it is owned or private, and includes both spouses, the man sitting and the woman standing or vice versa, or the spouses together or standing together.

3 - Triple Statues: They were revealed around the pyramid of King Menkaure in 1908, in which the king appears next to the goddess Hathor and a statue of a woman symbolizing one of the regions of Egypt. Although five models of them were found, it is believed that the group included 38

4- Deceptive statues: These consists of a group of statues depicting a person in different stages of his life

                 Examples of the art of sculpture in the era of the Old Kingdom:

The statue of King Djoser, was found in the basement north of the pyramid in Saqqara, and there is a model of this statue in the basement below the step pyramid

Head of the statue of King Djedefre (Louvre Museum)

 The Statue of King Khafre, found in the Valley Temple in Giza (Egyptian Museum), and more than fourteen statues of the king were found

Statue of King Khufu (26th Dynasty - Egyptian Museum)

                                               Third: The Middle Kingdom:

 Painting and engraving spread on the walls of tombs, especially the tombs of the regions, as well as painting on the walls of coffins, and this privilege, which was specific to kings in the era of the Old Kingdom, became permissible for ordinary individuals and senior statesmen, and new topics appeared in the tomb drawings that were not present in the tombs of the Old Kingdom era, including scenes Wrestling and views of the visit to the cult centers of Osiris in Abydos and Abusir

One of the most famous scenes that appeared in the Middle Kingdom era was what was found in the tomb of (Khnumhotep) in Bani Hasan, where the tomb contained many scenes, including scenes of dancers and servants as they weighed grain and stored wheat in warehouses, scenes of agriculture, scenes of harvesting and threshing, scenes of harvesting grapes and figs, scenes of hunting birds and scenes of games sports

Characteristics of Ancient Egyptian art and Factors of Ancient Egyptian Art

                                       Fourth: The era of the modern state:

Art in the era of the New Kingdom represented an extension of the main characteristics of art in the previous periods (ancient and medieval), but in the era of the New Kingdom it was distinguished by two new factors, the first: the expansion of the borders of Egypt due to the great Egyptian conquests, and the second: the emergence of the Atonian religious thought adopted by Akhenaten and became the art of sculpture in The era of the modern state is more expressive than the previous one and liberated a lot from it, so new clothes appeared with long, exquisite folds, wide necklaces, ornaments, and large headdresses. Examples of royal statues in this era are the statue of Queen Hatshepsut, as well as the statue of King Thutmose III As well as some huge statues depicting King Amenhotep III and his wife Ti