Painting, Sculpture, and Ephemera

2

Figure 3-15 Ti watching a hippopotamus

hunt, relief in the mastaba of Ti, Saqqara,

Egypt, Fifth Dynasty, ca. 2450–2350 BCE.

Painted limestone, 4’ high.

Success of the hunt a

metaphor for success

over tribulation faced in

afterlife

Good over evil, power

over weakness

Order over Chaos

Fresco secco technique

Sometimes carved in

bas relief and painted

The cyclic nature of the

Nile is linked the cycle

of all life, death, day to

night.

Fresco Right - Queen Nefertiti playing a game,

c. 1320-1200 BCE.

Fresco Above- Musicians fresco

rom the tomb of Nebamum c. 1350 BCE

Enjoyment of earthly pleasures sustains the Ka.

Female companionship signals

rebirth and renewal.

3

Cattle scene, Nebamun tomb Egypt c 1350 BCE

Tomb of Sarenput II. 1900 BCE 12th Dynasty

Hierarchical scale – Largest figure 5

6

Fowling scene, from the tomb of Nebamun, Thebes, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1400–1350 BCE. Fresco secco, 2’ 8” high.

British Museum, London.

7

Menkaure and and His Queen from Gizeh,

Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2490–2472 BCE.

Graywacke, 4’ 6 1/2” high. Museum of Fine Arts,

Boston.

SCULPTURE

OLD KINGDOM

The lotus and the

papyrus plants

represent Upper

and Lower Egypt

MIDDLE KINGDOMABOVE: Colossal Statue of a Pharaoh. Egyptian, Middle Kingdom,

Dynasty 12, reign of Amenemhat II ca. 1919–1885 B. C

Granodiorite.

8

Seated or Standing:

Always anchored to the stone.

Perfect proportion

Ageless, flawless skin

Not a true “portrait”, but an

idealized man who is divine

Serene, eternal and powerful

If standing, the foot of power

and authority forward.

9

ABOVE Seated scribe, from Saqqara, Egypt, Fourth

Dynasty, ca. 2500 BCE. Painted limestone, 1’ 9” high..

RIGHT Seated statues of Rahotep and Nofret,

Maidum, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2575–2550

BCE. Painted limestone, 3’ 11 5/8" and 4’ high

respectively. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Second Edition, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields

PART 3

HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.1 The Prehistoric and Ancient Mediterranean

Hieroglyphics

Often images of

objects, but can

represent ideas or

sounds

The Rosetta Stone,

discovered in 1799,

made the translation

possible

Hieroglyphics

Demotic

Greek

wooden canopic jars

Painted wooden canopic jars, c. 700 bce (25th Dynasty). Painted sycamore fig wood, 12¼ ” high. British Museum,

London, England

Shabti of Seti I 1280 BCE Stand-ins for the dead who are called upon to take one’s place, do work, performs any activity the dead person calls upon them to do.

Shabti (Ushabti)

Shabti of Sobekhotep IV 13 Century

BCE

This piece of jewelry features King

Senusret II and was found in the

tomb of Sit-Hathor Yunet, daughter

of Senusret II.

Broad Collar from Dynasty 18

worn during the reign

of Thutmose III 1479-1425 BCE. It

is gold inlaid with carnelian glass

Scarab ornament King

Tutankhamun