AP Art History Unit Sheet #3: Egyptian Art Ms. Cook
Period of Art Name Type of Art Date Page # Predynastic & Early Dynastic 3500 -2575 BCE Palette of Narmer Sculpture 57
Imhotep, stepped pyramid Architecture 59 Old Kingdom 2575 -2040 BCE Great Pyramids, Giza (Menkaure, Architecture 62 Khafre, and Khufu) Khafre Sculpture 64 seated Scribe Sculpture 65 Menkaure and his bride Sculpture 65 Middle Kingdom 2040 -1550 BCE Rock -cut tombs, Beni Hasan Architecture New Kingdom 1550 -1070 BCE wall paintings in Tomb of Nebamun Painting 75 Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut Architecture 69 Abu Simbel (Ramses II) Architecture 71 Temple of Amen -Re at Karnak Architecture 72 Amarna Style: Akhenaton Sculpture 76 Amarna Style: Nefertiti Sculpture 77 Amarna Style Akhenatom, Nefertiti, Sculpture 78 and three daughters Post -Amarna: Death mask of King Sculpture 79 Tut First Millennium BCE 1000 -30 BCE Portrait statue of Mentuemhet Sculpture 81
Preview: The ancient cultures established along the Nile River in Egypt between 3500 BCE and 30 CE were characterized by complex social organizations under the leadership of Pharoahs. Much of their art and architecture was produced to honor these rulers, who were thought to be divine, as well as the gods in the Egyptian pantheon, the most important of which were Amen , the supreme god, and Re , god of the sun. Ancient Egyptian culture is divided into periods according to dynastic rule: the Predynastic and Early Dynastic period (ca. 3500-2575 BCE), the Old Kingdom (c. 2575-2040 BCE), the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2040-1550 BCE), the New Kingdom (ca. 1550-1070 BCE), and the final period, the First Millennium (ca. 1070 BCE – 30 CE), in which Egypt came increasingly under foreign rule. The early 19 th century discovery of the Rosetta Stone, a kind of translator’s tablet, allowed scholars to read Egyptian hieroglyphics, linguistic symbols included on many works of Egyptian art and architecture. Among the most significant of these are the Great Pyramids at Gizeh, constructed during the Old Kingdom; Middle Kingdom rock-cut tombs; and enormous New Kingdom Temple of Amen-Re at Karnak. With notable exceptions, the stylistic features of Egyptian painting and sculpture evolved slowly, remaining remarkably consistent through three millennia.
Key Place Names: Upper and Lower Egypt, Saqqara, Gizeh, Heliopolis, Dashur, Beni Hasan, Deir el-Bahri, Thebes, Abu Simbel, Karnak, Amarna, Kush, Edfu
Key Egyptian Deities: Amen, re, Osiris, Isis, Hathor, Anubis, Unas, Aton, Maat, Thoth, Horus
Pharoahs: Early Dynastic: Menes (Narmer), Djoser Old Kingdom: Sneferu, Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure Middle Kingdom: Mentuhotep, Senusret III, Thutmose II, Hatshepsut New Kingdom: Ramses II, Amenhotep IV/Akhenaton (Amarna Period), Tutankhamen First Millennium: Taharqo AP Art History Unit Sheet #3: Egyptian Art Ms. Cook
Other Historical Figures: Imhotep, Ti, Senmut, Nefrura, Khamerernebty, Thutmose, Nefertiti, Tiye, Nebamun, Mentuemhet, Howard Carter
Context and Background Geographic Isolation: civilization is defendable, homogeneous cultures=continuous traditions Economic Security: agricultural base due to inundation of the Nile=prosperity, continuity Deeply Held Religious Beliefs: Pharaoh son of god, hierarchical society=stability/aversion to change Hierarchical Society: Pharaoh to of “Pyramid”=collective will/aversion to change Geological Substructure: Plethora of stone=megalithic architecture, permanence Belief in the Afterlife: elaborate funereal traditions, objects and tomb architecture Conventions of Representing the Human Figure in Egyptian Art 1. Twisted perspective: two points of view combined into the representation of a single figure 2. Canon of proportion: always used in representing figures 3. Formalization of anatomy and stance =rigidity, lack of a sense of movement 4. Hierarchical organization of figures: within a composition (relief and painting, but also sculpture groups) 5. Little or no depth within composition: registers used to organize figures 6. Literal presentation of information: conceptual ordering of symbols, motif, hieroglyphics, patterns Egyptian sculpture: conventions of representing the human figure 1. Idealized: flawless body (youth), perfect facial feature (prime of life), no emotion, serenity 2. Timelessness: figure compact, without gesture, with no protruding breakable parts, carved in diorite (hardest stone available), to last for all time 3. Power and Authority: iconography reflects kingship and religious power and the divinity of pharaoh. 4. Stereotypical Poses: figures carved according to a canon of proportion and gestures-following established conventions.