The was one of the most advanced inthe ancient world. Located in northeast Africa at thenorthmost end of the Great Rift Valley. Thewas born out of thewhen farmers learned to live with the seasonal changes ofthe around 4000 B.C.

Egyptian civilization

Egyptian EmpireNeolithic Period. (New Stone Age)

Nile River

Egyptian Art

“Opening of the mouth ceremony”from the Book of the Dead of Hunefer.New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty. Papyruspainting.

PaintingThe art of the Egyptian Empire remainedvirtually unchanged for almost this entirespan of time. This was largely due to theuse of set rules or that all artistshad to follow.

canons

These rules were designed to expressthe concept that their civilization wasconstant and stable.

1) the more important a person was, thelarger they were depicted

2) men are depicted with darker skinthan women

3) faces, arms, legs, hands and feet areshown in profile

4) eyes (usually single eye) and chestare frontal

5) no mathematical perspectiveattempted

6) little or no overlapping7) spaces are divided into horizontalbands or (like comic strips)

8) the left foot is forward on standingfigures

Canons:

registers

1. The Egyptian empire was born out ofwhat period? (1)

2. What major river snakes through theEgyptian empire? (1)

3. Make a small sketch of the 'Opening ofthe mouth ceremony" from the Book of theDead of Hunefer and list the 8 canonsof Egyptian painting (9)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

4. Egyptian painters were not concernedwith realism except when it came todepicting what kind of subject matter? (1)

Name:___________________________

QuestionsGrade 9 - Egyptian Art

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Nebamun hunting birds, from the Tomb ofNebamun, Thebes, c. 1400 B.C.The Egyptian were not concerned with realism exceptwhen they depicted animals. As with prehistoric artists,they took great care in showing animals as they reallylooked, modern biologists can tell the sex, species andseason of these painted beasts. Painted areas wereusually solid and flat. The pigment that the Egyptiansused were similar to those used by prehistoric artists withsome additional colours: browns, yellows, reds - fromclay; black from charcoal; blue from ground lapis lazuli;greens - from plants.

Painting

Cover of Tutankhamnen’s coffin.c.1340 B.C.Gold inlaid with enameland semiprecious stones. 6ft. The

tomb of King Tut had not beenlooted when found in 1929 byarcheologists.

Mummification

mummificationThe Egyptian developed a 72 dayprocess called topreserve and embalm thedeceased. The internal organswere removed and placed in jars,but the brain was discarded asuseless. Chemicals were used to dryout the body, then wrapped in 20 layers of cloth.

The mummy was then placed in a wooden coffinand lowered into a tomb or (literallyan eater, phagos of flesh, sarcos.) The coverof the coffin or sarcophagus contained an effigyof the deceased.

sarcophagus

5. Describe the process ofmummification. (1)

6. What does the word “sarcophagus”mean? (1)

7. Make a sketch of Tutankhamnen'scoffin lid and describe the mood/feelingyou get from his facial expression. (2)

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SculptureEgyptian artists used two mainsculpture techniques. Most of theirwork can be described aswhich is to say that the figures wereattached to the back of the stone.

These two techniques werewhere the surrounding

background was left unworkedand the subject was cut into thestone; and where thebackground was cut away, leavingthe subject sticking out from it.

If the subject stuck out very far, itwas called . As inpainting, animals were realisticlooking, but human were stylized.

relief,

incisedrelief

low relief

high relief

Akhenaten and Nefretete and their children.c.1370-1353 B.C. Limestone relief, 13 x 15 inches.

Palette of Narmer,from Hierakonpolis,c. 2700 B.C.Slate,25 inches.

8. What are the two techniques usedin Egyptian sculpture? (2)

9. Make a sketch of thePalette of Narmer and decidewhat the function of this artwork was.(Hint: look at the depiction ofNarmer's enemies at the bottom) (2)

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SculptureAll freestanding sculpture sharedthe following characteristics:1) They were very blocky and stiff.2) In standing figures, the left leg

was always forward.3) Hands are always shown clenched

at their sides, in men.4) The negative space is left attached,

not cut out.5) They were often painted to enhance

realism.

Menkure (Mycerinus)and his queen, from Giza.c. 2470 B.C., Slate, 1.42 mhigh.

Prince Rahotep and his wife Nofret.c.2610 B.C., Painted Limestone,3 ft 11 1/4.

The Egyptians held the belief that thepreservation of the body was not enough. Ifthe likeness of the king was also preserved,it was doubly sure that he would continue toexist forever. So they ordered sculptors tochisel the king’s head out of hard,imperishable granite, and put it in the tombwhere no one saw it, there to work its spelland to help his Soul to keep alive in andthrough the image. One Egyptian word forsculptor was actually ‘He-who-keeps-alive.’

Colossal statue of Khafre asthe god Hu, later known asthe Great Sphinx, Giza.c. 2500 B.C. Sandstone,20.12m high.In Egypt lions guardedentrances, especially to templesand palaces. Lions were watchfulparticularly appropriate asguardians because they werethought to sleep with their eyesopen. They were also associatedwith the sun as the eye ofHeaven.

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10. Make a sketch of Menkure(Mycerinus) and his queen andlist the 5 characteristics ofEgyptian free-standing sculptures.(5)

11. What was one Egyptianword for sculptor? (1)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

ArchitectureThe Egyptians’ religion believedstrongly in the ‘afterlife’. Pharaohsspent much of their life preparingfor death and they built huge tombsthat we still see today, e.g.

The first tomb built was called a It was a four-sided (the sides sloped ortapered upwards) brick or stone block, solid structure. The dead person was buriedunderground beneath the In around 2,600 B.C., King Zoser (Djoser) hadhis architect, Imhotep (the first time the name of an artist has been recorded inhistory) designed a new kind of tomb at Saqqara. It was made by stackingsuccessively smaller mastabas one on top of another like a ‘stairway to heaven’ andso, it is called a The pyramid did not stand alone in the middle of thedesert however, but was part of an entire funerary district ( ) withtemples and other buildings for celebrating both during and after the pharoh’s life.

Soon, architects smoothed-out the stepped sides and created likethe most famous ones at

. These pyramids allhave four triangular sidesand a square base with oneside facing north. Thesloping sides of thepyramids represent the raysof the sun and one of thepyramids is inscribed, “ThePharaoh mounts to theheavens on the rays of thesun (Ra).” These pyramidsand the locatedwith them are part of alarge funerary district builtby three different Pharaohs:

who also built theSphinx and

. This entireperiod is referred to as

The Great Pyramids.

mastaba.

mastaba.

step pyramid.Necropolis

true pyramids

Giza

Sphinx

Cheops (Khufu), Chefren(Khafra)

Mycerinus(Menkaure)

Old Kingdom.

Pyramids of Menkure (Mycerinus), Khafre(Chephren), and Khufu (Cheops), 146 mhigh, Giza. c.2570-2530 B.C. Limestone.

Later, in the period known as the, Egyptian architects developed

an important architectural technique knownas the . were lined up in rows and large flat cutstones were overlapped on top of them to form a roof. These buildings were darkinside and full of tall posts with little open spaces. If posts were too tall, they brokeor fell down and if they were too far apart, the lintels broke.

NewKingdom

post and lintel system Columns

Step pyramid, funerary complex of King Zoser,Saqqara. c.2750 B.C. Limestone, 71 m high.

Cross section of Cheops

1 Silhouette with original facing stone2 Relieving blocks3 Airshaft?4 King’s chamber5 So-called queen’s chamber6 False tomb chamber7 Grand gallery8 Thieves tunnel9 Entrance

1 Original mastaba2 Burial chamber

1

2

12. What was the nameof the first artist whosename has been recordedin history and wasresponsible fordesigning the StepPyramid? (1)

13. What are the namesof the three pyramidsbuilt at Giza? (3)

1.2.3.

14. Look at the crosssection of the Cheopspyramid, why do youthink a false tombchamber was built? (1)

15. Make a sketch ofthe post and lintelsystem and label it. (2)

16. What animal did theEgyptians believe weregood guardians? (1)

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