AHIS 120g 1st Edition Lecture 3 Current LectureEgyptian art- One reason that ancient Egypt enthralls us is the exceptional technique and monumentalcharacter of its works of art. o They intended the paintings, sculptures, and other objects they placed in tombs to accompany the deceased into eternity. - Egyptians did not strive for originality but adhered instead to traditional formulations that expressed specific ideas.o Continuity of form and subject is a characteristic of ancient Egyptian art. - Egyptian artists executed works of art mainly for elite patrons of a society that was extremely hierarchical. o Placement of a god-king in charge of the physical and spiritual well-being of the land and its people. - Egyptian geography played a formative role in the development of art. o The land was established on the course of the Nile River in North Africa.o The water leaves a dark strip of soil fertilized by silt—“black land”. o Nile River flows from south to north. Upper Nile—geographically the lower, southern area. Lower Nile—geographically the upper area nearby Giza. - The Palette of King Narmer (3150-3125 BCE)o Dynasty I.o Expressed the concept of the king as unifier. o A palette is a stone tablet with a central depression for grinding protective paint that Egyptians applied around their eyes to protect them from ailments and the sun’s glare.  However, the size of the Palette was probably used for ceremonial, decorative purposes. o Shallow relief carvings in registers decorate both sides of the Palette. At the top of each side, in the center, hieroglyphs spell out Narmer’s name. The Egyptians developed hieroglyphs as a writing system and used them in both religious and administrative contexts.o The king appears in the composite view that will be the hallmark of Egyptian two-dimensional art: with a frontal view of eye, shoulders, and arms, but a profile of head and legs. o He wears the white crown of Upper Egypt and from the belt his kilt hangs the tailof the bull.o The large scale of his figure compared with others immediately establishes his authority. o The Palette communicates its message by combining several different types of signs on one object.  Literal representations and symbolic representations.  Pictographs, small symbols based on abstract representations of concepts, encode further information.The Pyramids at Giza- Architecture during the fourth dynasty changed drastically: shift from a step pyramid to a smooth-sided one. - The best known pyramids at Giza, commemorating Khufu—the first and largest pyramid—Khafra, and Menkaure—the smallest one. - Striking is their extraordinary simplicity.- Equilateral triangles. - At any time of day, one side will hold the sun’s full glare, while another is cast into shadow. o Centered on a stone relic in Heliopolis, the sun cult. - Before damage caused by Islamic builders, each pyramid was dressed with white limestone, preserved now only on the pinnacle of the pyramid of Khafra. - Fourth Dynasty burials took place on the Nile’s west bank. The architects at Giza set out the monuments on an extended east-west axis.- Next to the valley temple of Khafra stands the Great Sphinx.- Khafra (2500 BCE)o Found in the hall of the valley temple of Khafra. o Made of diorite—a stone difficult to work with and had to be imported. Ability tomaster this medium articulated prestige of the Egyptian culture.  Diorite came from Nubia. Expresses the king’s control of foreign lands. o Best-preserved statue represents the seated king in a rigidly upright and frontal pose.o Frontality gave him presence.o Behind him, the falcon Horus spreads his wings protectively around his head.o The sculpture neatly expresses qualities of kingship.  Horus protecting his head, Frontality,  The king’s muscular form to indicate power- Menkaure and His Wife, Queen Khamerernebty II (2515 BCE)o Carved in one piece with an upright back slab.o Exhibits similar rigid formality.o The artist depicted Menkaure and his queen with several characteristics in common.  Of almost identical height, both are frozen in a motionless stride with the left foot forward. The king is more muscular then Khamerernebty. Smooth surfaces and a high polish characterize both bodies. These common qualities establish an appearance of unity.- The Seated Scribe (2400 BCE)o Saqqara. o Body proportions are consistent enough in royal and elite sculpture in the round and in relief and painting to suggest the artist relied on guidelines for designing the human image.  This canon began in the Fifth Dynasty with a grid superimposed over the human image. For elite male officials, there were two kinds of ideal image, each representing a different life stage.- One is youthful, physically fit image.- The other, a paunch, rolls of fat and signs of age on the face indicate maturity. o Seated Scribe is an image of the individual’s high status. Egyptian society was mostly illiterate; a scribe had high status since he is depicted in the act of writing. o Conventions of pose, proportion and appearance applied only to the highest echelons of society—royalty and courtiers. By contrast, the lower status of the subject, the more relaxed and naturalistic their pose. - Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt (2510-2460 BCE)o Tomb of Ti, Saqqara. Canons of proportion (see