Egyptian Art
The Egyptians were elegant and exquisite craftsmen. They are also known for their beliefs about life and death. They believed in an eternal life journey after death, which is the reason; they were buried with their most valuable possessions.
The Egyptians also created a beautiful and mysterious pictographic language “Hieroglyphs” over 5000 years ago. They continued to use this language until about 400 A.D. It is also believe that the Egyptians invented paper, which they called “Papyrus” getting its name from the Cyperus Papyrus plant. The Egyptians made major contributions to the world of art, and the world in general.
The Egyptians created vivid works of art that modeled their beliefs and their way of life and they built the pyramids as burial structures for the gateways of the afterlife for their kings and royalty members.
Below we can observe an image of a stepped pyramid and sham buildings of the funerary complex of Djoser, Saqqara.
(Image: Art: A Brief History, Stockstad, Cothren page 61).
The Egyptians were very religious people. They dedicated enormous resources to Egyptian rituals and the construction of temples. Because of their beliefs, they developed an exquisite and unique form of art. Their art works centered on their gods and the preparation for eternal life after death. They created sculptures, forms of pottery, paintings and hieroglyphs to decorate burial tombs for their eternal afterlife journey.
This civilization is the most well known for their monumental sculptures, but they also created small sculptures made of stone, wood, and bronze. These were often a mixture of a human body with the head of an animal (falcons). They were also known for their astonishing pottery made out of clay which held images of animals, people, and last but not least; their gods.
(Above, we can observe an image of the kneeling figure/sculpture of Hatsheput. This image is located in page 67 or our eBook – Art: A Brief History. The actual
The Egyptians also created a beautiful and mysterious pictographic language “Hieroglyphs” over 5000 years ago. They continued to use this language until about 400 A.D. It is also believe that the Egyptians invented paper, which they called “Papyrus” getting its name from the Cyperus Papyrus plant. The Egyptians made major contributions to the world of art, and the world in general.
The Egyptians created vivid works of art that modeled their beliefs and their way of life and they built the pyramids as burial structures for the gateways of the afterlife for their kings and royalty members.
Below we can observe an image of a stepped pyramid and sham buildings of the funerary complex of Djoser, Saqqara.
(Image: Art: A Brief History, Stockstad, Cothren page 61).
The Egyptians were very religious people. They dedicated enormous resources to Egyptian rituals and the construction of temples. Because of their beliefs, they developed an exquisite and unique form of art. Their art works centered on their gods and the preparation for eternal life after death. They created sculptures, forms of pottery, paintings and hieroglyphs to decorate burial tombs for their eternal afterlife journey.
This civilization is the most well known for their monumental sculptures, but they also created small sculptures made of stone, wood, and bronze. These were often a mixture of a human body with the head of an animal (falcons). They were also known for their astonishing pottery made out of clay which held images of animals, people, and last but not least; their gods.
(Above, we can observe an image of the kneeling figure/sculpture of Hatsheput. This image is located in page 67 or our eBook – Art: A Brief History. The actual
References: Stokstad, Cothren (2010). Art: A Brief History - 4th Edition. Pearson Education - pp 56 – 75. http://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history/art-history-400-c-e--ancient-cultures-1/ancient-egypt/a/egyptian-art http://www.crystalinks.com/sphinxfacts.html