Art History Sem 1

1. Egyptian Art/Design
Joyce Teoh Mei Kuan | Diploma in Film & TV
Egyptian Art/Design
The civilization of Ancient Egypt in the lower Nile Valley from about 1000 BCE to 100 AD had produced
the painting, sculpture, architecture and other arts. Ancient Egyptian art reached a high level in painting
and sculpture and was both highly stylized and symbolic. Much of the surviving art comes from tombs
and monuments and thus there is an emphasis on life after death and the preservation of knowledge of
the past. Above all of royalty, portraiture in Ancient Egypt was highly
developed, and represented a complicated mixture of realistic depiction of
individuals and stylization.
Symbolism
Symbolism, ranging from the pharaoh’s regalia to the individual symbols of
Egyptian gods and goddesses, is omnipresent in Egyptian art. Animals were
usually also highly symbolic figures in Egyptian art. Colours were more
expressive rather than natural.
Hierachical scale of portraying
The size the people indicates their status in the social order. The king, or
pharaoh, is usually the largest figure depicted to symbolize the ruler’s
superhuman powers. Figures of high officials or tomb owner are usually
smaller, and in smallest scale are shown servants and entertainers, animals,
trees, and architectural details.
Art Forms
Ancient Egyptian art forms are characterized by regularity and detailed depiction of gods, human beings,
heroic battles, and nature, and a high proportion of surviving works were intended to provide solace and
utility to the deceased in the afterlife. Artists tempt to preserve everything from the present as clearly
and permanently as possible.
The arts were created using media ranging from papyrus drawings to pictographs and include funerary
sculpture carved in relief and in the round from sandstone, quartz diorite and granite.
An extraordinarily vivid representation of the Ancient Egyptian’s
socioeconomic status and belief systems was displayed through their arts.
Egyptian arts in all forms obeyed one law: the mode of representing Pharaohs,
gods, man, nature and the environment remained consistent for thousands of
years.
Painting Scuplture Pottery Papyrus Architecture
Individual symbols of Egyptian gods
and goddesses
Tomb of Sarenput II
Hieroglyphs