From the very beginning of Egyptian culture, painting played the role of the main decorative arts. Painting ancient egypt developed slowly over the millennia. What did the Egyptians achieve during this time?
Walls with bas-reliefs most often served as the basis for painting. Paints were applied to plastered walls. The placement of the paintings was subject to strict rules dictated by the priests. Principles such as the correctness of geometric shapes and contemplation of nature. The painting of Ancient Egypt was always accompanied by hieroglyphs explaining the meaning of the depicted.
space and composition. In Egyptian painting, all elements of the composition look flat. When it is required to present the figures in depth, the artists superimpose them on top of each other. The drawings are distributed in horizontal stripes, which are separated by lines. The most important scenes are always located in the center.
Image of a human figure. Egyptian drawings of people the same degree include features in front and in profile. To maintain proportion, the artists drew a grid on the wall. Older examples have 18 squares (4 cubits), while newer examples have 21 squares. Women were depicted with pale yellow or pink skin. For creating male image used brown or dark red. It was customary to depict people in the prime of life.
to maintain proportions, the artists used a grid
Egyptian painting is characterized by the so-called "hierarchical" view. For example, the higher social status the depicted person, the larger the size of the figure. Therefore, in the battle scenes, the pharaoh often looks like a giant. Images of people can be divided into archetypes: pharaoh, scribe, craftsman, etc. The figures of the lower social strata are always more realistic and dynamic.
Color application. The artists followed a predetermined program, which means that each color had a certain symbolism. It is believed that the origins of the meaning of the colors of Egyptian painting were in the contemplation of the color overflows of the Nile. Let's highlight the meaning of the main colors used by the artists:
- blue - the promise of a new life;
- green - an expression of life's hopes, rebirth and youth;
- red is a symbol of evil and barren land;
- white is a sign of victory and joy;
- black is a symbol of death and return to life in the other world;
- yellow is an expression of eternity and imperishable divine flesh.
The tone of the background depends on the era. For ancient kingdom a gray background is characteristic, and for the New Kingdom it is pale yellow.
Painting of the Old Kingdom
The Old Kingdom covers the period from the 27th to the 22nd century BC. It was then that the construction of the Great Pyramids took place. At that time, bas-relief and painting still did not differ from each other. Both means of expression were used to decorate the tombs of pharaohs, members royal family and officials. During the Old Kingdom, a uniform style of painting was formed for the whole country.
Peculiarities
The first wall paintings are distinguished by a rather narrow range of colors, mainly black, brown, white, red and green shades. The image of people is subject to a rigid canon, the severity of which is the higher, the higher the status of the depicted. Dynamism and expression are characteristic of figures depicting secondary characters.
Mostly depicted scenes from the life of the gods and pharaohs. Colorful frescoes and reliefs recreate the environment that should surround the deceased, no matter what world he is in. Painting reaches a high filigree, both in the images of characters and in the silhouettes of hieroglyphs.
Example
One of the most significant monuments of the Old Kingdom are the sculptures of Prince Rahotep and his wife Nofret (27th century BC). male figure painted in brick red, and the female - in yellow. The hair of the figures is black and the clothes are white. There are no halftones.
Painting of the Middle Kingdom
We will talk about the period that lasted from the 22nd to the 18th century BC. During this era, the wall paintings show a structure and order that was absent in the era of the Old Kingdom. A special place is occupied by a painted multicolored relief.
Peculiarities
In the cave tombs you can see complex scenes, which are more dynamic than in previous eras. Additional attention is paid to the contemplation of nature. Murals are increasingly being decorated floral ornaments. Attention is paid not only ruling class, but also to ordinary Egyptians, for example, you can see farmers at work. At the same time, the inalienable features of painting are the perfect order and clarity of the depicted.
Example
Most of all, against the background of other monuments, the murals of the tomb of the nomarch Khnumhotep II stand out. Particularly noteworthy are the hunting scenes, where the figures of animals are rendered using halftones. No less impressive are the paintings of the tombs in Thebes.
Painting of the New Kingdom
Scientists call the period from the 16th to the 11th century BC the New Kingdom. This era is distinguished by the best examples of Egyptian art. At this time, painting reached its highest peak. The spread of tombs promotes the development of painting on walls covered with plaster. Freedom of expression is most clearly manifested in the tombs of private individuals.
Peculiarities
The era of the New Kingdom is characterized by hitherto unknown color gradation and light transmission. Contact with the peoples of Asia brings a passion for detail and ornamental forms. The impression of movement is enhanced. Dyes are no longer applied in an even matte layer, artists are trying to show soft tonal overflows.
Through painting, the pharaohs demonstrated their strength to the border peoples. Therefore, the image of scenes reproducing military episodes was common. Separately, it is worth mentioning the theme of the pharaoh in a harnessed war chariot, the latter was introduced by the Hyksos. Images appear historical character. Art increasingly resonates with national pride. Rulers turn temple walls into "canvases" that focus on the pharaoh's role as protector.
Example
Tomb of Nefertari. It is a perfect ensemble of painting and architecture. IN currently this is the most beautiful tomb of the Valley of the Queens. The murals cover an area of 520 m². On the walls you can see some chapters from Books of the Dead, as well as the path of the queen to the afterlife.
- The first surviving ancient Egyptian monumental painting was discovered in a burial crypt dating back to the 4th millennium BC, located in Hierakonpolis. She depicts people and animals.
- The ancient Egyptians painted with mineral paints. Black paint was extracted from soot, white from limestone, green from malachite, red from ocher, blue from cobalt.
- In ancient Egyptian culture, the image played the role of a double of reality. The painting of the tombs guaranteed the deceased that in afterlife they are waiting for the same benefits as in the world of people.
- In ancient Egypt, images were believed to have magical properties. At the same time, their strength directly depended on the quality of the painting, which explains the special care with which the Egyptians treated painting.
Despite numerous studies devoted to the painting of Ancient Egypt, far from all the secrets of this art have been unraveled. To understand the true meaning of each drawing and each sculpture, scientists will have to work for more than one century.
The most important means of expression of Egyptian art was wall painting. Most often, the Egyptians made their "drawings" on the wall with bas-reliefs. The placement of such drawings and reliefs was subject to strict norms and canons dictated by the priests. The drawings of Ancient Egypt served for its inhabitants as nothing more than a "double of reality" - a reflection of their life.
Ancient Egypt: the meaning of the drawings
Why did the Egyptians make their drawings so detailed, invest so much time and the best resources in them? There is an answer. In ancient Egypt, the main purpose of painting was to commemorate the life of the deceased in afterlife. Therefore, Egyptian art does not reproduce any emotions and landscapes.
The Egyptians applied painting mainly on the walls of tombs, tombs, temples and various objects that had a funerary or sacred significance.
Ancient Egypt: painting rules
The scenes that are depicted on the walls always correspond to the hieroglyphs attached to them, they kind of explain the essence of the whole image.
The most important rule of the artists of Ancient Egypt is to correctly depict each of the parts of the body so that it is easily distinguishable and perfect. It should be noted that the Egyptians drew exclusively in profile, but the eye was always made in full face, all for the same reason - to make it correct, because if it is drawn in profile, its image is distorted, which was unacceptable.
In order for all the proportions of the human body to be observed, the artists first drew a grid, and then figures with the correct dimensions.
The idealization of figures is directly proportional to the social status of the person depicted in the figure. So, for example, he is depicted forever young, he himself is motionless and imperturbable (the Egyptians had a rule: the stronger the depicted motionless, the higher his social status). Also characteristic of painting is the size factor - the higher a person stood in society, the larger he is in the picture, for example - the pharaoh does not seem like a giant when compared with soldiers.
Animals, on the other hand, were depicted the other way around - alive, moving fast.
Each color that was applied to the wall had its own specific symbolism. Mostly bright colors were applied, especially in places where daylight hit, but dark tombs also boasted bright images.
Green color denoted vitality, black - black earth, white - a sign of joy and victory, yellow - the eternal power of the gods, blue - the sea and eternal life.
Why the Egyptians portrayed all people as flat and in profile January 9th, 2017
The ancient Egyptians are well known for their phenomenal architecture, artwork, and large pantheon of exotic gods. Belief in the afterlife and all aspects of its manifestation made the Egyptians famous throughout the world. When viewing multiple works of art those years, you can see that all people and gods are depicted in profile (on the side). The drawings do not apply perspective, there is no "depth" of the image.
Why or why was this style used?
Funeral portrait of a young man. Egypt, 2nd century AD | Photo: en.wikipedia.org.
One would think that the point was just that the only way they knew how to draw in ancient Egypt. That was a very, very long time ago. Remember for example rock art in caves, it seems. actually write realistic paintings they knew how in Egypt. Most famous example ancient painting - Fayum portraits of the 1st-3rd centuries AD. Many historians and art historians break their spears over the artificial primitivism of Egyptian painting.
And here are some ideas...
1. At that time, the “three-dimensionality” of the image had not yet been invented
Egyptian gods on the walls of Nefertari's tomb. Photo: egyptopedia.info.
All drawings of Ancient Egypt are made "flat", but with small details. Perhaps most artists were simply incapable of creating complex compositions with people in realistic poses. Therefore, they adopted standard canons: the heads and legs of all people and gods are depicted in profile. Shoulders, on the contrary, are turned straight. The hands of those seated always rest on their knees.
2. Deliberate simplification as social aspect
Official during bird hunting. | Photo: egyptopedia.info.
The Egyptians invented a great way to get rid of the third dimension and used it to represent social role the people depicted. As they imagined in those years, a pharaoh, a god and a common man could not be depicted side by side in the picture, because this exalted the latter. Therefore, all the figures were made in different sizes: pharaohs were the largest, dignitaries were smaller, workers and slaves were the smallest. But then, realistically drawing two people of different status side by side, one of them would look like a child. It is better to depict people schematically.
3. A direct look is considered a challenge.
In the animal kingdom: animals avoid eye contact. A direct look is considered a challenge. See how the dogs fight. Weak - turned to a strong opponent in profile, or exposes his neck. The gods are so lofty and sacred that a person, even an artist, has the right only sideways to observe the life of the omnipotent. Only Death, an equally angry god, looks straight into the eyes. Therefore, a person can only observe, and certainly not participate in the sacraments of divine liturgies.
The second answer could explain the image technology.
Painted or carved in stone figures are very similar to daguerreotypes, and even shadow theater, which has survived to this day from ancient times.
Let's remember how we all loved to play with hand shadows since childhood. Daguerreotypes are easier to perceive in profile. Ancient masters used shadows cast on the walls of the pyramids from a torch or the setting sun for templates. This technology made it much easier for them to depict majestic giant figures. Therefore, the artists were exclusively priests, Egyptians of elite circles. Not to use the shadows of a despicable slave for the contours of the deity?
Having mastered the daguerreotype technique, the Egyptians may have gone further. How beautifully and naturally movement is depicted in the frescoes. Where does the ability to transfer a step, direction come from? Didn't there exist in the past fragile analogies with today's film distribution, cartoons, or at least the Shadow Theater? Perhaps we do not know everything about the pastime of young pharaohs, their holidays of worshiping deities and initiations. It is symbolic that the gods of Egypt do not look us in the face. Or we don't look at their faces.
4. Religious version
Underworld of Ancient Egypt. | Photo: dv-gazeta.info.
According to another version, the Egyptians deliberately made drawings of people two-dimensional, "flat". This is especially noticeable in the paintings where animals are present. Their ancient masters colorfully wrote out, giving realistic and elegant poses.
The ancient Egyptians, with their worship of the afterlife, believed that the human soul could travel. And since the drawings were mainly made in tombs and tombs, they could “revive” the three-dimensional pictorial image of a deceased person. To avoid this, the figures of people were drawn flat and in profile. So human face more expressive and easier to portray similar.
In order not to revive the image, the Jews went even further. They generally banned human images, and therefore, subsequently, many Jewish artists (not all) painted people with distorted proportions. An example of a Chagall painting. Later, Muslims borrowed this prohibition from the Jews.
Some versions of course intersect with each other, but which one seems most likely to you? Or do you know another version?
27-01-2017, 19:07 |
As you know, one of the most ancient world civilizations is ancient Egypt. It was here that the first statehood was born. Ancient Egypt was located on the South Shore mediterranean sea. Its inhabitants settled along the banks of the Nile River. The Egyptians developed agriculture. Moreover, they grew crops based on territorial conditions. Once a year the Nile flooded. To use this a natural phenomenon The Egyptians invented irrigation facilities. Thus, they ensured excellent watering of their crops. Below we consider where the territory of Ancient Egypt was located. And then take a closer look at Ancient Egypt pictures.
In ancient Egypt in pictures
The pharaoh ruled the state in ancient Egypt. According to religion, he was considered the son of the Sun God - Amon Ra. His power was limitless. After the death of the pharaoh, they were placed in a sarcophagus, which was taken to the pyramid. The pyramid for the pharaoh was built during his lifetime. And in last way along with the pharaoh, they sent his personal belongings, sometimes wives, servants and animals. According to the religion of the Egyptians, they believed in an afterlife, and considered it necessary to send things with the dead that would be useful to him.
At first, the Egyptian kingdom was not united. There were two states on the territory - Upper and Lower Egypt. Each kingdom had its own pharaohs. But after a while the two kingdoms became one. In a unified Egypt, there were several social strata of society:
- Nobles;
- Warriors;
- Artisans;
- Farmers.
The nobles were the most privileged group. In the same group were scribes - people who collected taxes, the most literate group of the population. The most honorable position for a nobleman was the opportunity to wear the sandals of the pharaoh - it was very honorable. Warriors usually accompanied scribes during the collection of taxes. If a resident of Ancient Egypt could not pay the tax, then he was entitled to lashes. In general, the inhabitants of Egypt were quiet, strong social unrest in this ancient country did not have. The most famous rulers were - Tutankhamun, Thutmose, Ramses, Djoser.
Below are pictures on the history of Ancient Egypt, a very interesting selection.
Most of the ostraca were found in the excavations of the settlement of Deir el Medina, where the masters who served the royal necropolis in the Valley of the Kings lived. It was located on west bank Nile opposite the capital Thebes. The ostraca found here belong to the end of the New Kingdom (1314-1085 BC), to the XIX-XX dynasties.
Even in ancient times, around the 4th millennium BC. e., in ancient Egypt there was a whole system of ideas about the afterlife. The funeral cult was expressed in the care of the dead, who, according to the beliefs of the Egyptians, continued their existence in the other world. The tomb served as the dwelling place of the deceased, and therefore its decoration was given great importance. The tombs and chapels in the temples were brightly painted.
The murals of the tombs of kings and court nobility resembled an unfolded papyrus scroll, on which magical texts were written, designed to provide the deceased with eternal life in the afterlife. Such texts were illustrated by drawings with canonized plots.
In addition to traditional motifs, less common motifs appeared in the era of the New Kingdom. In the reliefs of the temple of Amun in Karnak one can see the full dynamics and expression of the “Acrobatic dance” and the peculiar landscape in the so-called “Botanical relief”. Landscape motifs are also found in wall paintings and drawings on ostraca, the compositions of which abounded with new image techniques: trees with a lush, spreading crown began to be more picturesquely interpreted, the contours of branches and trunks were either completely devoid of conditional stroke, or it was performed very thinly. Color becomes more refined, colors become more saturated. Date palms often appear in landscape ostraca with monkeys on their branches. Such plots allow us to talk about the strengthening of contacts with Nubia in the era of the New Kingdom, since the Egyptians associated monkeys and date palms with this country.
Egyptian craftsmen used natural dyes. Color palette drawings on the ostraca are more restrained compared to the paintings. Most of them are executed in brick red or black paint, or in the traditional range of four colors: black (gray), red ocher, orange, yellow, brown, green (mostly light) and sometimes white. blue paint used less frequently.
The Egyptian master, as a rule, subordinated the variety of natural colorful combinations to the established color scheme using the coloring technique. Artists matched colors, adhering to the principle of decorative contrast. They avoided the gradation of shades, which could give the composition a spatial illusion. What the masters saw in reality, they were able to organically translate into a conventional manner of depiction.
Already on early stage development of ancient Egyptian art in reliefs and paintings, the motif of a boat with a figure of a seated or standing rower, floating among the thickets of papyrus and lotus, becomes widespread. This plot, connected with the idea of the posthumous voyage of the deceased, was of a ritual nature. Papyrus stems served as a border between the earthly and the other world, and lotus flowers symbolized rebirth to eternal life. The image of a rower complies with the accepted rules for transferring a figure on a plane with a combination of face and profile elements.
"Egyptian woman sailing on a platypus boat."
Ostracon. 11th century d.n. e.
A true masterpiece is the ostracon depicting an acrobatic dance. In a swift movement, the flexible acrobat abruptly leaned back. The moving grace of the figure is emphasized by the falling strands of the wig. Interesting detail: the earring in the ear, not obeying the movement of the figure, remains hanging motionless.
This kind of conventionality can be observed very often in ancient Egyptian art, since the artist never sacrifices the purity of the lines of the silhouette for authenticity.
There are sketches among the ostraca, which, although with reservations, can be attributed to genre compositions. They are based on direct observations. Such sketches are executed in a fluent, free manner. On a small clay shard, there is a drawing of a naked girl crouching in front of a pottery kiln. The artist visibly showed jets of air blown into the oven, through its transparent walls one can see the vessels standing inside. It is natural to assume that the master who made this drawing on a fragment of a clay vessel was engaged in painting ceramics.
"A monkey climbing a tree."
Ostracon. 11th century d.n. e.
Drawings on ostraca are thematically the most diverse group of monuments, including sketches of compositions and individual figures included in ritual scenes. These include images of gods, portraits of pharaohs and queens, noble nobles and servants. Ostracons with portraits of pharaohs were a kind of model-samples. They were made not only in drawing, but also in relief. The ancient Egyptian language has the word sankh, which figuratively conveys the essence of portrait images. Since the era of the New Kingdom, this word has been used in the sense of "one who is kept in life through the medium of his image." Here we are talking about the ritual portrait.
Any portrait, including the ancient Egyptian one, is designed for recognition, and the transfer of similarity is connected with this. According to the beliefs of the Egyptians, to “recognize” oneself in a picturesque or sculptural work must have been the spiritual essence of a person - a double ka, which, as was believed, existed before his birth, accompanying him in the earthly and afterlife world. So the cult of the dead, which assumed eternal life, contributed to the creation of living art.
The manner of execution of portrait ostracons tended more towards the methods of canonical art. Even in sketches from nature, the masters adhered to the established system of rules. This concerned the combination of the profile of the head with the face of the shoulders.
Egyptian masters knew how to stingy expressive means say a lot. As a rule, the artists masterfully owned the line. By means of lines of different widths, an impression of volume was achieved, and within the contour there was a feeling of roundness of forms.
The ancient Egyptians were excellent animalists. They endowed a number of animals and birds with divine properties, classifying them as sacred. In the process of embalming animals, the masters comprehended their anatomy, which helped to create convincing images.
Beasts in ancient Egyptian art are often depicted as gods. It is immediately clear from the drawings whether they are made from nature or are a symbol of sacred animals. So, for example, sketches of baboons are made much freer than their images, transformed into the god of wisdom, Thoth.
And yet, the elements of the future reincarnation are already reflected in the drawings, where such a characteristic technique was used as a combination of the profile of the head and the face of the shoulders. According to a similar principle, a human figure was connected with the head of an animal. Similar types of images, consisting of heterogeneous elements, are called syncretic these include the ancient Egyptian sphinxes with the body of a lion, the head of a man or a ram (the sphinxes of the god Amun in Karnak).
"A monkey playing a double-barreled flute."
Ostracon. 11th century d.n. e.
Ostracons often go beyond traditional motifs. Among them there are drawings of a parodic and satirical nature. A number of plots in which parallels to fables are guessed are almost not represented in any other form of art, except for ostraca, papyri and individual reliefs. Here, traits characteristic of people, cats they graze geese, talk with monkeys, moreover, the animals themselves change roles in relation to each other, for example, cats obsequiously serve mice, lions goats. Parodic ostracons cause disagreement among scientists in their interpretation: some see them as caricatures of the pharaoh and the priesthood, others as illustrations for fables, and still others consider them to be humorous scenes.
Of particular interest are the drawings of the "animal epic". Among them are such plots as the war of mice and cats, a lion and a goat playing checkers. Probably, the Egyptians also invested in them an allegorical meaning, expressing in a veiled form their attitude towards dark sides reality. Parallels with the world of people involuntarily arise in a number of plots. Unfortunately, there are almost no texts of ancient Egyptian fables preserved in literature. The first evidence of their existence in Egypt dates back to the New Kingdom. Drawings of the "animal epic" can not always be attributed to any particular plot. One of the ostraca from the Berlin Museum shows a ginger cat with a raised paw, talking to a baboon. The image of her outwardly resembles a lioness, which hints at the iconographic proximity to the image of the goddess Tefnut, who, in addition to the hypostasis of a lion, also appears in the form of a cat. This figure has a connection with the legend of the return of the goddess Hathor-Tefnut from Nubia. Perhaps this is one of the few pictorial parallels mythological story. But the question arises: how are the bird in the nest (in the upper part of the figure), the cat and the baboon connected in meaning?
All elements of the composition are balanced in rhythm and color, and this is not accidental. On the left, a cat sits on a small elevation, its muzzle is bared, in its front paw there is a staff with a curved end. Reddish streaks run through the animal's fur in flaming flashes. The whole appearance of the cat indicates that it is aggressive towards the monkey, which, on the contrary, expresses calmness and complacency with its posture. In the right paw of the animal, the fruit of a date. Above the monkey and the cat is a bird spreading its wings over the nest. The grayish-blue color of the baboon and the bird hints at their divine essence, for this color symbolized involvement in an unearthly beginning. If we accept the version that this drawing is associated with the myth of the “Return of Hathor-Tefnut from Nubia”, then the monkey should personify Thoth, the date fruit hint at the scene Nubia, and the angry cat at Tefnut itself. In this episode of the myth, the god Ra, needing the protection of his daughter Tefnut, sends Thoth after her, Thoth, who has taken the form of a baboon, pacifies the angry Tefnut with wise stories, in which fables were presumably interspersed. One of them, about a bird, is probably illustrated by this drawing. The meaning of the fable was that the cat made an alliance with the kite and they promised to protect each other. But she treacherously broke her oath and began to encroach on his nest. With this parallel, Thoth wanted to remind Tefnut of her duties towards her aging father, the god Ra. This version combines the meaning of all the elements of the composition.
Ostraca, where animals from musical instruments, do not have such a close analogy in the texts. It is characteristic that in these drawings the Egyptian masters did not illustrate the plot, but revealed its content by figurative means.
Ostraca constitute a significant but little known layer of Egyptian art. They can be divided into several categories: sketch drawings, compositions for wall paintings and reliefs, sketches from nature, in which the masters made sketches of sharply characteristic poses, facial expressions, gestures, model drawings that served as a kind of visual aids.
The leading craftsmen mastered the technique of carving and painting to perfection, and each of them was an excellent draftsman. In sketches-models of compositions and details of individual scenes, they saw only a preliminary stage of work, without giving them an independent artistic value. They often just threw away the ostraca after their role was played. preparatory stage was exhausted.
In sketches on ostracons, artists allowed themselves to depict scenes of comic, grotesque content that were not intended for wide viewing. The bold ease of these works, the diversity of their themes, the appeal to everyday life reveal another important side ancient Egyptian art unofficial and non-canonical, warmed by sincerity of feeling. They allow us not only to look into creative laboratory master, but also to feel the beating of his heart, responding to everything truly beautiful that life gave.
