...Egyptian art is expressed in many forms, such as paintings and sculptures. It is both physically attractive, and highly symbolic. Because of the highly religious nature of Ancient Egyptian civilization, many of the great works of ancient Egypt depict gods, goddesses, and Pharaohs, who were also considered divine. During my visit to the Metropolitan museum of art, I performed an analysis on the Egyptian sculpture of Isis-Aphrodite, a symbolic goddess in Egyptian culture. The sculpture of Isis-Aphrodite dates to the Roman period. This time period was around the second century A.D. The Metropolitan museum of art purchased the sculpture in 1991. The piece of Isis-Aphrodite is a terracotta figure. It is made of alluvial clay. It is painted with brown, black, red, and pink paint on a white englobe. This rather small delicately painted figurine of Isis gives great gratification to sight upon first glance. It has a height of only 19.5 inches, and a width of approximately 5 inches. It is however, truly astonishing. The sculpture has a narrow expressionless face. She has brown shoulder length hair is fixed with twists like curls, and bangs. Aside from a few elaborate accessories, Isis is nude. Isis wears a large attention grabbing crown on her head, which steals the emphasis from other features. The crown is actually an exaggerated calathos (the crown of Egyptian Greco-Roman deities) emblazoned with the sun disk and horns of Isis. She also wears a bracelet, anklet, and sash. The...
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...actions, as these two aspects of life are the ones that tell us most about the needs and beliefs of a culture. Learning about the needs and beliefs of ancient Egyptian culture brings up these barriers. In order to get an idea of the events and actions that pertained to the needs and beliefs of ancient Egyptians, we can look at certain physical artifacts from the time. Art and everyday objects can explain a lot about the daily events and actions of ancient Egyptians. However, these objects cannot give a thorough explanation about aspects of the culture on their own. In order to make the most out of the interpretation of ancient artifacts, they must be compared to similar artifacts from a culture that is known by the individual conducting the comparison. Finding the similarities and differences between the objects’ appearance and usage can lead to conclusions about the culture as a whole. One aspect of Egyptian culture that can be learned about and analyzed through certain artifacts is the depiction of women, and how women were viewed by other members of ancient Egyptian society. The way women are depicted in art during the times of ancient Egypt, can help show how they perceived in Egyptian culture. In order to gage this perception two similar representations of women from different cultures (one from ancient Egyptian society, and one from Western society that most are familiar with) must be compared. The two objects that will be compared are both statues of couples. These statues...
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...Ancient Egyptian art is over 5000 years old. It has lasted generation through generation. Their art was a very important aspect of their lives and it was often expressed through colorful paintings and detailed sculptures. It was very symbolic and interesting to look at; its purpose was to keep their history alive. A lot of their artwork was for spiritual purposes only. That being said, most of the artwork and sculptures were actually never meant to be seen by anyone but the gods. These beautiful works of art were used to benefit the deceased in which the art was for. Statues were places where the spirit could dwell which is why they would fill their tombs up with as many statues and paintings as they could. They would go through all this trouble just for one person to have a good after life. Early Egyptian art had a very distinct style. The artists of this era all carefully followed the popular trends of representing humans, gods, and animals in a kind of disproportional way. Gods and humans were notably different in artwork. You could tell because of the way the gods dress verses...
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...Could ancient Egypt’s religion have survived for such a long time if it did not incorporate artwork? While that remains unknown, it is still quite clear that art played a big role in the religion of ancient Egypt. Whether it be through wall monuments, the Book of the Dead, the mummification process or something else, these two things are closely related to each other. The religion in ancient Egypt was closely centered around the different gods and the afterlife, and art reflected this. Ancient Egyptians associated many different traits that animals had with attributes of the gods, which lead to them being depicted with the heads of animals. The gods were shown in all types of artwork, a common one being narrative art, which told a story often honouring the achievements of someone. The style of art in Egypt was also created to appease the gods. People were drawn in both side and front perspectives at the same time to show the gods the most of their bodies that they could, and pharaohs and gods were also much larger than other figures to highlight their significance....
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...Predynastic period, which lasted until about 3100 BC, had begun. Organized settlements have been found and the art produced during this time was discovered mainly in their cemeteries. Objects were put into the grave with the body for the use of the spirit in the next life, even though preserving a large number of personal goods as pottery, tools, and weapons. The pottery is often decorated with a painting that reflects the life of the time. Images of birds and animals common to the Nile. Copper was used in small quantities for beads and simple tools, but most things were chipped from stone. Cosmetics made of stone were used for grinding eye paint. Small sculptures and pictures were either carved from ivory and bone or modeled in clay. Old Kingdom Sculpture From the early figures of clay, bone, and ivory in the Predynastic period, Egyptian sculpture developed quickly. By the time of Zoser large statues of the rulers were made as resting places for their spirits. Egyptian sculpture is best described by the terms cubic and frontal. The block of stone was first made rectangular; the design of the figure was then drawn on the front and the two sides. The resulting statue was meant to be seen mainly from the front. Since it was meant to be a timeless image meant to show the essence of the person sculpted, there was no need for it to be sculpted in the side. The Egyptian artist was not interested in showing movement. Standing figures are not shown as if they were walking but rather...
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...Art History October 07, 2012 Art of Ancient Egypt – Chapter 03 The antiquity and continuity of Egyptian civilization were legendary, the period of roughly three thousand years during which Egyptian architecture, painting, and sculpture remained essentially the same. The main purpose of Egyptian art was to serve the needs of the royalty, especially the king and his retainers, both in this life and the next. Egyptian art reflected an idealized world, the ideal of the human figure developed early among the Egyptians, with body parts sized according to a set of standard proportions (Hartt 72). The poses of these figures are rigid, both feet planted firmly on the ground, with rigid knees, and the left leg placed slightly in front of the other. Egyptian art also incorporated certain fictions in order to express a larger truth, as an example, the beautifully shape of the pharaohs will mostly show the image of the ideal leader of Egypt, even if he/she is not exactly like that in reality, the message that the sculpture will pass is the power and magnificence. The great age of mature ancient Egyptian civilization can be divided into three periods: Old Kingdom - in this time period the Sphinx and Great Pyramid at Giza were built; the royal statues emphasize the majesty and divinity of the pharaoh. A curious detail about the colors used in sculptures is that usually to differ male from female, the artisans would utilize brown(men) and yellow(women), emphasizing that men were mostly...
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...religious histories in the world. The level of advancement of the ancient Egyptian culture was higher than that of its neighbors. The Egyptian culture helped in the advancement of various aspects of humanity. The significance of the Egyptian culture in the modern day world makes it one of the most studied cultures in the world. Contemporary mathematics has its roots in the ancient Egyptian culture. Ancient Egyptians used various form to express their culture. Of all the forms used to express Ancient Egyptian culture, none is more significant than the Egyptian art. Ancient Egyptian art give insights into the ancient Egyptian culture. In ancient Egypt, sculpture had a significant religious and political importance. Art symbolized various seasons and religious practices. Sculpture continues to have a significant political and religious importance in the contemporary world, just as it did in the ancient Egyptian culture. The giant stone head of King Amenhotep III is one of the sculptures that symbolize ancient Egyptian culture. The giant stone head of King Amenhotep III is 2.5 meters high and is a portrait of the king with very youthful features. The head has double crowns, which represent the unification of the Upper and Lower Egypt. The upper crown of ancient Egyptian kings was white with the lower crown being red. In essence, the king was the symbol of the unification of the ‘two lands’ (Kuhrt 125). Egyptian art for kings was usually slightly different from that of normal people....
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...Egyptian and Aegean Art Ancient Egyptian art and ancient Aegean art both existed in different historical time periods, thus lending to the very distinct differences in styles. Ancient Egyptian art began its creation in 3000 B.C. and having reached its highest level in painting and sculpture by 300 A.D. { }. Egyptian art was highly symbolic and stylized in contrast to the more naturalistic Aegean art. Historically, Egyptian art evolved over several different periods such as the Predynastic, Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom, Amarna, third intermediate periods, and the Ptolemaic { }. In contrast, ancient Aegean art existed from 3000 B.C. to 1200 B.C. and included various styles and cultures, such as: Cycladic, Minoan, Mycenaean, and cyclopean...
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...world, specifically the Americas before explorers such as Christopher Columbus discovered it, there exists rich literature of ancient civilizations that have shaped all spheres of modern life. The most recognized civilizations include the Egyptian civilization, the Roman Empire, and the Greek civilization. The fall of one civilization led to the rise of another civilization and so forth. The earliest recorded civilization, however, is the Egyptian civilization and scholars have credited it with influencing the subsequent empires that rose afterward, especially Alexander's the Great Greece Empire...
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...Project Egyptian and Hittite Empire Ancient Art By Christopher Mincey 09/08/2014 Art Appreciation (HUMA205 -1404A-01) There are so many different types of art form that I could have chosen. I want to possible see the similarity of Art in the same ancient time period but among different cultures. I have chosen art work of the Canopic Jar Lid from the Egyptian Dynasty and the Seated goddess with a child from the Anatolia and the Caucasus or Hittite Empire. Both of the work of art is from the time period of 2000 BC to 1000 BC. Both of these pieces of art is part of their own culture but holds an magnificent piece of their own cultures past. The Ancient Egyptian Jar lid was an very important piece in this ancient civilizations culture. The jar lids main purpose was to store the internal organs of the body. The organs that were individually wrapped were the stomach, liver, lungs and the intestines. According to the history of Canopic Jars the heart was left in the body due to the Egyptians believed the heart carried the soul or spirit of an individual. For each organ that was removed they placed them all four different containers. The Metropolitan Museum of Art list the Canopic jar of Queen Kiya which has been identified by the hieroglyphic and the outer appearance of the facial lid part of the jar. The Egyptians placed the face of whoever may have died on the upper jar lid. The art form of the lids was that of pottery, this piece of Egyptian history is a three dimensional art piece...
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...generally, we use a funerary box, known as coffin, in order to display and contain the dead body. Coffin, comes from Greek word, kopina, which means basket (Lewis 2010). In earlier years before century, a coffin is included as an art that used to tribute loyal family such as king, queen, or God. This box that crafted before centuries is called sarcophagus. Sarcophagus comes from Greek words sarx, means “flesh” and phagein, means “to eat”. Mostly, sarcophagus is made from stone. This is because the artisan wanted it to be last long and be memorable. There are a lot of different kinds of sarcophagus that have been made in before centuries. The shape, size, and what specific stone it used to make the sarcophagus are depends on the culture of where it has been made. In University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, there are two examples of sarcophagus with different style and shapes. Those are the Egyptian sarcophagus and Italian sarcophagus. Egyptian sarcophagus displayed on the museum is made from a limestone. This sarcophagus was crafted around 200 – 190 BC. According to the museum, it came from “Ptolemaic culture”. This sarcophagus was crafted by “Pedibast” to honor the third generation of the king in early 30th century. This Egyptian sarcophagus has about “6.5 feet on height, 2 feet width and about 1.5 feet in depth”. The shape is following human body which will leave only a plenty spot once a corpse is put inside. Beneath the man, there is a square box which...
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...Three impressive civilizations, from different time periods, have managed to influence each others cultures through the literature works of poetry; from Ancient Egyptian song: “I Am Your Best Girl”, to the glorious Greek love poems of the beautiful Sappho, and the monotheistic Hebrews Song: “I Am the Rose of Sharon.” Over the course of thousands of years, each of these great civilizations had countless views on poetry; all represented inspiration to their own citizens to become successful in life’s endeavors. All forms of literature, art, scripts and artifacts had a wide effect on these societies. By comparing these key examples of poetry, matters of passion for personal integrity, search for eternal love, admiration for greater quality of life and powerful affection towards dear ones, can give us a better understanding towards the emotional and dignifying experiences each culture portrayed. In the first Love Song: “I Am Your Best Girl,” there are many contrasts between the authors theme of powerful affection towards a beloved and the authors self-definition of ones own society. To start, the author sets a personal tone of desire and devotion to ones beloved. She shows ones worth in the first few lines of a simile “I belong to you like an acre of land which I have planted,” here the poet doesn’t mind becoming a part of mans property, she is deeply devoted to him. Nevertheless, it can also bring meaning into a hard days work of maintaining the land and applying that to her...
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...Ancient Art The pieces of art that will be compared comes from the Egyptian art collection; one from the Old Kingdom of the 4th Dynasty, the other from the New Kingdom of the 19th Dynasty. The works from the 4th Dynasty is called Princess Nefertiabet and her food, dating between 2590-2565 b.c. and the works for the 19th Dynasty is called The Goddess Hathor Welcomes Sethos I, dated between 1290-1179 b.c.. Both paintings reflect the lifestyle of the Egyptian beliefs through the use of hieroglyphics. The Egyptians were strong believers in the sun god Ka, and that there was life after death and “that part of human being that defines personality and that survives life on earth after death”(A World of Art,6th ed., 2009). A lot of the paintings created are about the afterlife. Priness Neferiabet was the daughter of Snefru and the best artists of their times were commissioned to create a painting depicting all the riches the princess would have in the afterlife. The stele is 37.5 cm in height and 52.5 cm in width and painted on limestone, with vibrant colors of red, yellow, black and green. The various inscriptions tell the onlooker about the various items such as food and clothing that were taken with the princess. They are also deliberately placed on the limestone in various ways. For instance, the pictorial for libation is placed in front of her face possibly meaning the importance of food. The painting of Hathor and Sethos I carries a different story of the...
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...Greek and Egyptian cultures both value strong men, and women who needed their men. However, one difference that the Egyptians and Greeks have in their values is simplicity. The Egyptians favored elaborateness and the Greeks preferred simplicity. Both the Greek and Egyptian cultures value strength in their men. The images of the Greek men show these men in the prime of their abilities. The well muscled bodies depicted in the images show vitality and power that men in their prime have. The image "Theseus and the Amazons" shows strong and militarily powerful men defeating the Amazons. Competition of any kind, athletic or militaristic, was a way for men to prove themselves in Greek society. If a man showed arete he had honor (Burger, 49). Because of the Greek's chase of arete, men had to be strong both physically and intellectually in order to win. When Greek artists depicted men, the only men worthy to make art of were strong men with arete, so looking at the Greek culture, strong men were valued. The Egyptian images two and three show powerful men as well. In image two, showing Nebamum hunting, Nebamum is larger than his wife and servant. He is also closer to the foreground of the image with the other two in the background. Another instance of the man being larger and more forward is with image three. King Ramesses II is much larger than his wife, with Nefertari only coming up to his knee. The king is also more forward on the platform than her as well. Egyptian artists used...
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...ancient Egyptian culture is based on elaborate worship rituals related to death and the afterlife. Egyptians were devoted to their gods and to their pharaohs who were gods on earth. This obsession with higher power is shown very abundantly through Egyptian art. As an artist myself I feel very connected to this form of expression. If I had been born in Ancient Egypt around the year 2000 B.C., I feel like I would most certainly have been an artist of their culture as well because it is part of who I am and who I was born to be. Egyptian art and architecture developed independently and revolved around the concept of immortality. Pharaohs recognized that their nobility and eternal spirit depended greatly on the masons, painters and sculptors they chose to reflect their lives and carry on their legacy. Therefore artisans were treated with great respect and were considered middle class. Respect and a sense of value are very important to me, and had I lived in Egypt during this age they would have been imperative also. Egyptian artisans were instructed in the proper techniques to carry out their work in a very specific genre and style. I believe this is where the challenges would lye for myself. I feel like art is a personal expression and would find it very difficult to conform to a social standard. My personally opinion is that art should be used to express abstract thoughts, religious views, cultural beliefs, life, fantasy and personal beliefs. It seems to me that Egyptian art was...
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