ANCIENT EGYPTIAN

Theories & Interpretations

• Artistic expresssion was meant to serve the Pharaoh, not the individual. Artists were craftspeople that adhered to a specific style or canon of representation.

• Religion and belief in the afterlife consumed the cultural attitudes, lifestyles, structures, etc. of the people. Pharaohs were descendents of the Gods and treated as a God-King.

• Statues contained the spirit or ka of a god, while intricate charms and amulets were meant to ward off evil spirits.

• Tombs were constructed to protect the Pharaoh into the afterlife. Walls were intricately decorated with scenes from the person's life or protrayed a life they hoped to live in the afterlife. 

• Order, symmetry, and balance were fundamental concepts. They viewed the world in dualities (male/female, day/night) and often created works and structures in pairs.

Style Characteristics
*excluding Amarna period

Painting/ Fresco Secco

• Narrative scenes w the use of registers, hierarchical scale, composite view or profile view

• No illusion of depth (realistic use of space), as subjects appear flat (no value changes), order and balance is established through repetition and unity through similar looking figures (appearance and pose)

• No sense of individualism or realistic qualities of the person. Figure is viewed more like a concept with generic features and neutral expression. Mixed animal/human figures together.

Sculpture

• Seen either seated or standing - both in rigid frontal pose. Appears very formal with both arms resting on the legs (seated) or arms pressed on either side of the body (standing).

• No sense of individualism or realistic qualities of the person. Figure is viewed more like a concept with generic features and neutral expression.

• Body appears blocky as figure is still "attached" to stone (part of the chair or part or stone behind figures that are standing). Very little body movement/action which makes the figures appear stiff and rigid.

• Standard Pose For Standing: upright with one leg forward, hands are clenched, face is looking forward, with neutral expression.