Sculpture plays an important role in the culture of the most ancient civilization on Earth. According to the Egyptians, one of the human souls - ka - has the ability to stay in two worlds at once: the earthly and the afterlife. Hence the desire to preserve the body of a deceased person by any means (embalming and mummification), as well as the creation of a large number of sculptures that can serve as a shell for the soul "ka".
Another feature of Egyptian sculpture is the strict canons (rules) by which all images were created. On the one hand, the sculpture had to be realistic enough so that the soul could "recognize" its shell, on the other hand, the canon required complete symmetry in the image of a person, and the physique also obeyed strict rules. That is why numerous images of pharaohs, priests and gods seem to be of the same type, and differences exist only in facial features. Departure from the rules was allowed only when depicting low-class people: officials, military, etc.
The vast majority of the sculptures of Ancient Egypt are static. Most often, kings and gods are depicted sitting on a throne, or standing, the hands of the figures are resting on their knees, or crossed over their chests, their gaze is directed straight ahead. Such an angle created an amazing effect, it seems to the viewer that the statue is looking directly at him, no matter from what angle he looks at the sculpture. The huge eyes of the sculptures also have a cult significance. The Egyptians were sure that the soul of a person is in his eyes. Therefore, all the sculptures were painted very carefully.
The most famous Egyptian sculpture is the Great Sphinx. Mythical creature with the head of the pharaoh Khafre and the body of a lioness. A monumental sculpture guarding the pyramids acted as a guardian of the peace of the kings in the valley of the pyramids. The majestic pose, a look full of peace and detachment, power and inner strength still make an indelible impression on tourists.
Temple sculptures of pharaohs and gods deserve special attention. Executed in strict accordance with the canon, the Egyptian kings are presented as majestic, well-built and detached. It was possible to portray the pharaoh, the living god, only outside of time and life. All standing sculptures depict the king taking a step forward (the so-called "step into eternity"), symbolically this means the transition of the ruler from earthly life to eternal life.
The sculptural masks of the pharaohs, which covered the face of the pharaohs in sarcophagi, are extremely interesting. Masters used precious metals and multi-colored enamels to create masks. The most famous mask is that of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Sculptural portraits of Egyptian masters have left us brilliant examples of realism and plasticity. Portraits of Nefertiti, Teye, Mikerin, Amenhotep III and others are undoubted masterpieces of ancient art. Most often, sculptural portraits are the preserved parts of statues that have been lost for centuries.
A separate discussion is worthy of the art of the Amarna period. At this time, when Pharaoh Akhenaten forbade the worship of numerous gods of the Egyptians and proclaimed monotheism. At the same time, artists were allowed to deviate from the canon, to depict people as they really are. Therefore, the statues and images of the most rebellious pharaoh are radically different from the images of other rulers. In front of the viewer is an ugly man, with crooked legs and a bulging belly. But the value of these images lies precisely in their historical authenticity and truthfulness.
For their sculptures, the masters of Ancient Egypt used a variety of materials: wood, alabaster, basalt, quartzite, limestone. The features of each material were taken into account, helping to create unique, special, accurate and reliable images within strict canons.
The best examples of ancient Egyptian sculpture are kept in museums
Art of the Old Kingdom (3200 - 2400 BC)
Egypt of the Old Kingdom was a primitive slave-owning society, in which, along with the exploitation of slaves, there was also the exploitation of the labor of the free agricultural population, united in communities. With the development of the productive forces, the use of slave labor also increased. At the head of the state was the pharaoh, who despotically ruled the country and relied on the top of the slave-owning nobility. The unification of Egypt, dictated by the needs of the development of irrigation agriculture, was nevertheless rather unstable due to contradictions in the interests of the local nobility, which led to a struggle between the nomes (regions) and between the nome nobility and the pharaohs. Therefore, throughout the history of the Old Kingdom (as, indeed, throughout the history of Egypt), the degree of centralization of the state was not the same.
The period of the Old Kingdom was the time of the addition of all the main forms of Egyptian culture.
Already from early times, architecture occupied a leading position in Egyptian art, and from ancient times the main structures were the monumental tombs of kings and nobility. This is explained by the special significance that funeral cults had in Egypt, closely associated with the widely developed (as in any ancient agricultural country) cults of dying and resurrecting deities of nature. Naturally, the king and the slave-owning nobility, who played the main role in these cults, paid special attention to securing their posthumous "eternal life", and, consequently, to the construction of durable tombs; already very early for their construction, the most durable material available to ancient architects - stone - began to be used. And while brick and wood continued to be used for dwellings intended for the living, tombs - "houses of eternity" - were the first stone buildings. Secular buildings have hardly survived; we can judge the appearance of the palaces only by the images of their facades on steles and sarcophagi, while the clay "houses for the soul" placed in the tombs give an idea of the houses.
According to the ideas of the primitive man who lived in the Nile Valley, the afterlife was a semblance of the earthly one, and a dead person needed housing and food just as much as a living one; the tomb was thought to be the home of the deceased, which determined its original form. From this was born the desire to preserve the body of the deceased, or at least the head. The climate of Egypt, with its exceptional dryness, especially contributed to the development of such aspirations. Here they were no longer limited to preserving skulls or embalming the heads of dead ancestors, but gradually, as a result of long searches, they developed complex mummification techniques. Since at first the methods of embalming were still imperfect, statues of the deceased were placed in the tombs as a replacement for the body in case of damage. It was believed that the soul, in the absence of a body, could enter the statue and revive it, thanks to which the posthumous life of a person would continue. Consequently, the tomb - the house of the deceased was supposed to serve as such a room where the mummy would be in complete safety, where the statue of the deceased would be placed and where his relatives could bring everything necessary for his food. These requirements determined the structure of the tombs of the Old Kingdom.
The tombs of the nobility, the so-called "mastaba" ( "Mastaba" in Arabic means "bench". This is the name given to the tombs of the nobility of the Old Kingdom by modern Egyptians. This name has also been retained in science.), consisted of an underground part, where a coffin with a mummy was placed, and a massive above-ground building. Similar buildings of the 1st dynasty looked like a house with two false doors and a courtyard where sacrifices were made. This "house" was a brick-lined mound of sand and stone fragments. Then they began to attach a brick chapel with an altar to such a building. Limestone was already used for the tombs of the highest nobility during the 1st dynasty. Gradually, the mastaba became more complicated; chapels and rooms for the statue were arranged already inside the above-ground part, completely built of stone. As the dwellings of the nobility developed, the number of rooms in the mastaba also increased, where corridors, halls and storerooms appeared by the end of the Old Kingdom.
For the history of Egyptian architecture, the construction of royal tombs was of great importance, the construction of which was devoted to huge funds, technical inventions, and new ideas of architects. Great importance was attached to the construction of royal tombs because they were the site of the cult of the deceased pharaoh. This cult played a prominent role in the Egyptian religion, replacing the cult of the leader of the tribe of the pre-class period. At the same time, the remnants of the idea that the leader of the tribe is the magical center of the well-being of the tribe, and the spirit of the deceased leader, subject to the proper rites, will continue to guard his flame, were transferred to the cult of the pharaoh. It is characteristic, for example, that the pyramid of Senusret I was called “Senusret looking at Egypt”, and eyes were depicted on the tops of some pyramids.
In the growing grandiosity of the royal tombs, the desire to establish a despotic monarchy was clearly reflected, and at the same time, the unlimited possibility of exploiting the labor of the masses by this monarchy was manifested.
For the construction of such structures, enormous efforts were required, since the stone had to be brought from afar and dragged with the help of embankments to a great height. Only by extreme exertion of the forces of slaves and free communal farmers could such gigantic structures be built.
The idea of architects and the improvement of technical methods followed the lines of increasing the above-ground mass of the building, but the horizontal increase of the latter, in the end, could no longer produce the required impression of overwhelming monumentality. The most important stage in the development of the royal tombs was therefore the idea of increasing the building vertically. Apparently, this idea first arose during the construction of the famous tomb of the pharaoh of the III dynasty of Djoser (about 3000 BC), the so-called "step pyramid". The name of its builder, the architect Imhotep, survived until the end of the history of Egypt, as the name of one of the most famous sages, the first builder of stone buildings, a learned astronomer and physician. Subsequently, Imhotep was even deified as the son of the god Ptah, and the Greeks compared him with their god of healing Asclepius.
The Pyramid of Djoser was the center of a complex ensemble of chapels and courtyards. The ensemble, which did not yet differ in the harmony of the general layout, was located on an artificial terrace and occupied an area of 544.9 X 277.6 m. The terrace was surrounded by a stone-lined wall 14.8 m thick and 9.6 m high. The pyramid itself reached a height of over 60 liters and consisted, as it were, of seven mastabas, placed one on top of the other. Djoser's tomb is notable not only for its pyramid shape, but also for the fact that stone was widely used as the main building material in its chapels. True, the stone has not yet everywhere had a constructive value here. We will not yet see free-standing columns, they are connected to the walls, from which the architect does not dare to separate them. The stone repeats the forms characteristic of wooden and brick buildings: the ceilings are cut in the form of log ceilings, the columns and pilasters are designed in the proportions developed for wooden buildings. The tomb of Djoser is also very important for its decoration, rich and varied. The forms of columns and pilasters are interesting: clear, majestic in their simplicity, fluted trunks with flat abacus slabs instead of capitals, or pilasters made in stone for the first time in the form of open papyrus and lotus flowers. The walls of the halls were lined with alabaster slabs, and in a number of underground chambers - with shiny green faience tiles, reproducing reed weaving. Thus, the tomb of Djoser as a whole was an extremely important monument for its time, a monument that combined an idea of great novelty and importance with technical and artistic capabilities that were not yet mature enough to give an equivalent design to this idea.
The forms inherent in stone construction have not yet been found, the planning of the entire ensemble has not yet been properly organized, but the main thing has already been realized and implemented - the building began to grow upwards, and the stone was identified as the main material of Egyptian architecture.
The Pyramid of Djoser paved the way for the creation of a perfect and complete type of pyramid. The first such pyramid was the tomb of King IV of the Snefru dynasty (about 2900 BC) in Dashur, which was over 100 m high and was the predecessor of the famous pyramids in Giza of the 29th - 28th centuries. BC, ranked in antiquity among the seven wonders of the world. They were built by the pharaohs. IV dynasty of Khufu (whom the Greeks called Cheops), Khafre (Chefren) and Menkaure (Mykerin).
The grandest of the three, the Pyramid of Khufu, probably built by the architect Hemiun, is the largest stone structure in the world. Its height is 146.6 m, and the length of the side of its base is 233 m. The pyramid of Khufu was built from precisely hewn and tightly fitted limestone blocks, weighing mainly about 2.5 tons each; it is estimated that more than 2,300,000 such blocks went into the construction of the pyramid. Individual blocks weighed 30 tons each. On the north side there was an entrance, which was connected by long corridors with the burial chamber located in the center of the pyramid, where the king's sarcophagus stood. The chamber and part of the corridor were faced with granite, the rest of the corridors with limestone of the best quality. Outside, the pyramid was also lined with slabs of good limestone. Its array stood out clearly in the blue sky, being a truly monumental embodiment of the idea of indestructible eternal rest and at the same time an eloquent expression of the enormous social distance that separated the pharaoh from the people of his country.
Each of the pyramids at Giza, like the pyramid of Djoser, was surrounded by an architectural ensemble; however, the layout of the buildings at Giza shows a greatly increased ability of architects to give a clear plan of the whole complex and balance its parts. The pyramid now stands alone in the center of the courtyard, the wall of which emphasizes the special position of the pyramid and separates it from the surrounding buildings. This impression is not disturbed by the small pyramids of queens sometimes located within the same courtyard; the difference in their scale in comparison with the pyramid of the king only reinforces the impression of the exorbitant size of the latter. The royal mortuary temple adjoined the eastern side of the pyramid, connected by a covered stone passage with a monumental gate in the valley. These gates were built where the waters of the Nile floods reached, and since the fields irrigated by the Nile were green to the east of them, and the lifeless sands of the desert spread to the west, the gate stood, as it were, on the verge of life and death. Around the pyramid, in a clearly planned order, were the mastabas of the pharaoh's courtiers, who were also his relatives. The clearest idea of the mortuary temples at the Giza pyramids is given by the remains of the temple at the pyramid of Khafre, which was a rectangular building with a flat roof, built of massive limestone blocks. In the center of it was a hall with tetrahedral monolithic granite pillars, on the sides of which there were two narrow rooms for the funeral royal statues. Behind the hall was an open courtyard surrounded by pilasters and statues of the king in the form of the god Osiris. Next were the chapels. The entrance to the entire pyramid complex was the facade of the gate in the valley, reaching 12 m in height and having two doors guarded by sphinxes placed on their sides ( The Sphinx is a fantastic creature, a lion with a human head, the personification of the power of the pharaoh.). Inside, this gate also had a hall with quadrangular granite pillars, along the walls of which were placed statues of the pharaoh, made of various types of stone.
A distinctive feature of the architecture of the Giza pyramids is the knowledge of the constructive role of stone and its decorative possibilities. In the temples at the pyramids of Giza, for the first time in Egypt, free-standing pillars are found. The entire decoration of buildings is based on a combination of polished planes of various stones. The gleaming facets of the columns of the mortuary temple were in perfect harmony with the pink granite slabs that lined its walls and with the alabaster floors, just as the similar decoration of the gate hall in the valley was a wonderfully colorful whole with statues of green diorite, creamy white alabaster and yellow slate.
The design of the tombs of the pharaohs of the V and VI dynasties (about 2700 - 2400 BC) is of a different nature. Although these tombs retain all the main elements of the tombs of the kings of the IV dynasty, however, their pyramids differ sharply from the grandiose monuments of their predecessors. They are much inferior to them in size, not exceeding 70 m in height, and are built from small blocks, and partly even from rubble. The construction of the colossal pyramids of the 4th dynasty laid too heavy a burden on the country's economy, tearing off the mass of the population from agricultural work, and caused dissatisfaction with the nobility. It is possible that the result of this discontent was what happened around 2700 BC. dynasty change. The new pharaohs were forced to reckon with the nobility and could not strain all the forces of the country to build their tombs. The more attention they paid to the design of temples, which now had to express the main idea of the tomb of the pharaoh - the glorification of royal power. The walls of these mortuary temples and halls at the gates began to be covered with colored reliefs glorifying the pharaoh as the son of God and the mighty conqueror of all the enemies of Egypt. Goddesses breastfeed him, in the form of a sphinx he tramples enemies, his fleet arrives from a victorious campaign. The sizes of the temples at the pyramids increase, their architectural decoration becomes more complicated. It is here that palm-shaped columns and columns in the form of bundles of unblown papyri, which later became so characteristic of Egyptian architecture, first appear.
The special attention that the architects of the end of the Old Kingdom paid to the design of temples had a fruitful effect on the general development of architecture of that time. In particular, a third, main type of Egyptian column arose - in the form of a bunch of lotus buds. A new type of building appears - the so-called solar temples. The most important element of such a temple was a colossal stone obelisk, the top of which was upholstered with copper and shone brightly in the sun; he stood on a dais, in front of which a huge altar was set up. Like the pyramid, the solar temple was connected by a covered passage to a gate in the valley.
Above, we talked about the statues that formed an integral part of the tombs of kings and nobility, as well as about religious ideas that caused the appearance of sculpture in the tombs. The same ideas determined the requirements for sculpture. The mortuary statues that have come down to us in a significant number have uniform motionless poses and conditional coloring. Placed in the niches of the mastaba chapels or in special small enclosed spaces behind the chapels, these statues depict the dead in strictly frontal poses, either standing or sitting on cube-shaped thrones or on the ground with their legs crossed. All the statues have the same straight heads, almost the same position of the arms and legs, the same attributes. The bodies of male figures, when they are made of light limestone or wood, are painted reddish-brown, female - yellow, their hair is all black, their clothes are white. The statues seem to be inextricably linked with the wall of the chapel, and behind the backs of many of them, a part of the block from which they were carved is preserved as a background. And, despite the fact that their multi-temporal origin, qualitative difference is clearly visible and their individual portrait character is clearly expressed, nevertheless, all these sculptures produce a general impression of solemn monumentality and strict calmness.
The unity of the figurative means of the sculpture of the Old Kingdom was caused both by its purpose and by the conditions of its development. The need to convey the resemblance to the deceased person, whose body the statue was to replace, was the reason for the early emergence of the Egyptian sculptural portrait. The solemn elation of the image was caused by the desire to emphasize the high social position of the deceased. On the other hand, the monotony of the poses of the statues, partly due to their dependence on the architecture of the tomb, was the result of a long reproduction of the same models, which dated back to the most ancient stone images and became canonically obligatory. The inhibitory role of the canon prevented artists from overcoming the established approach to conveying the image of a person, forcing them to invariably maintain stiffness of poses, impassive calmness of faces, emphasized strong and strong muscles of powerful bodies. This can be clearly seen, for example, on the statue of the nobleman Ranofer, he is depicted walking with his arms lowered along his body and his head raised; everything in this sculpture is sustained within the framework of the canon - pose, attire, coloring, overdeveloped muscles of a motionless (despite walking) body, an indifferent gaze directed into the distance.
However, life was stronger than the demands of religion, which could not completely retard the creative growth of Egyptian art. The best sculptors managed to create a number of truly remarkable works even within the time-honored traditions. Among them, one should especially highlight the statue of the architect Hemiun, the bust of the royal son Ankhhaf, the statues of the scribe Kaya and the royal son Kaaper, the head of a male statue from the Salt collection in the Louvre, the head of a female statue from the Carnarvon collection.
Each of these sculptures embodies an unforgettably vivid image, full of unique individual originality and genuine artistic power. In the portrait of Hemiun, one of the most highly placed people in contemporary society is depicted - a royal relative, the leader of the construction of such a wonderful monument as the Cheops pyramid. A clearly portrait face is interpreted in a generalized and bold way. Sharp lines outline a large nose with a characteristic hump, eyelids perfectly set in the orbits of the eyes, the line of a small but energetic mouth. The outlines of a slightly protruding chin, despite the excessive fullness of an already obese body, still continue to retain a firm authority, expressively completing the general characterization of this strong-willed, perhaps even cruel person. Hemiun's body is also very well shown - fullness of muscles, truthfully conveyed skin folds on the chest, on the stomach, especially on the toes and hands.
The portrait of the royal scribe Kai is no less striking individuality. Before us is a confidently outlined face with characteristic thin, tightly compressed lips of a large mouth, protruding cheekbones, a slightly flat nose. This face is enlivened by eyes made of various materials: in a bronze shell, corresponding in shape to the orbit and at the same time forming the edges of the eyelids, pieces of alabaster for the white of the eye and rock crystal for the pupil are inserted, and a small piece of polished ebony is placed under the crystal, thanks to which that brilliant point is obtained, which gives special vivacity to the pupil, and at the same time to the whole eye. Such a method of depicting eyes, generally characteristic of the sculptures of the Old Kingdom, gives amazing vitality to the face of the statue. The eyes of the scribe Kai, as it were, inseparably follow the viewer, no matter where he is in the hall ( It is interesting that the fellahs, who excavated under the guidance of the French orchaologist Mariette at the end of the 19th century. the tombs of the Old Kingdom in Megum, having entered the tomb of Rahoten, threw down their picks and shovels and rushed away in horror, seeing the eyes of the two statues standing in the tomb glittering from the sunlight that had penetrated into the tomb.). Like the statue of Hemiun, the statue of the scribe Kai impresses with the veracity of working out not only the face, but also the entire body of the collarbones, fat, flabby muscles of the chest and abdomen, so characteristic of a person leading a sedentary lifestyle. The modeling of hands with long fingers, knees, back is also magnificent.
No less remarkable than the statues of Hemiun and the scribe Kai, and the famous wooden statue of the king's son Kaaper. We see here again an individual face with soft lines that imperceptibly merge into one another, with a round chin, a relatively small nose, a puffy mouth and small, masterfully depicted eyes. Again, as in the previous two monuments, the body with a large belly, full shoulders and arms is also carefully worked out here. The vital veracity of this statue is such that it was no coincidence that the fellahs who worked on the excavations near Marietta, having discovered the statue of Kaaper in his tomb, shouted “Why, this is our village headman!” ( Hence the nickname "village headman" by which this statue is known in science.). In this wonderful statue, with all the solemn importance of the pose, which speaks of the high social position of the depicted person, one is struck by the realism with which the image of an ugly, middle-aged stout person is embodied here.
The bust of the royal son Ankhhaf is perhaps the most remarkable sculptural portrait of all the mentioned masterpieces of the Old Kingdom. This is a striking face, marked by extreme realism not only for the sculptures of the period under consideration, but, perhaps, for all Egyptian plastic arts; it draws attention to itself with its amazing skill in transferring the muscles of the face, skin folds, overhanging eyelids, unhealthy "bags" under the eyes. All the modeling of the face was made not from limestone, from which the bust was carved, but from plaster, which covers the stone with a dense layer. The realism of the face also corresponds to the interpretation of the shoulders, chest, and back of the head, similar to the rendering of the body that we saw in the statue of Hemiun.
The same sharpness of individual characteristics is characteristic of the Louvre head from the Salt collection and other best works of the period of the Old Kingdom. In the female head from the Carnarvon collection, the image of a young woman in the prime of life and beauty, typical of the art of the period under consideration, is perfectly conveyed.
The sculptures listed above are among the finest examples of ancient Egyptian realistic portraiture. These are monuments in which the searches of the artists of the Old Kingdom were most fully realized. In each of them, the sculptor managed to convey the appearance of a certain person, with all the originality of his facial features, head shapes and figures. At the same time, these statues are by no means a simple repetition of the external appearance of a particular person. Before us are images created by selecting the most characteristic features, with the help of a certain generalization, certainly far from a passive transmission of reality.
The path that led the sculptors of the Old Kingdom to the creation of such masterpieces was long and difficult. For the first time, the artist had to overcome technical difficulties, master the material flawlessly and at the same time create a significant artistic image. Monuments that have survived from previous centuries show us how these difficulties were gradually overcome. An important step in the creative path of the sculptors of the Old Kingdom was the manufacture of masks from the faces of dead people. However, the sculptors could not limit themselves to simply repeating these masks in the faces of the funeral statues, because the statue had to depict a living person. Hence the need to rework the cast, in which the sculptor made the necessary changes.
The successes that were achieved as a result of the application of such a method were so obvious that it was fixed and was further developed. In particular, it was used in the manufacture of heads or busts of the dead, which existed at the beginning along with the statues. Such portrait heads were found in a number of Gizah mastabas of the 4th dynasty; they were placed in the underground part of the tomb in front of the entrance to the chamber with the sarcophagus. These Gizakh heads are important as evidence of the intensive work of human thought and the unceasing growth of artistic quest. Each of them is distinguished by its individuality, expressed in a thoughtful and clear form, imbued with a strict rhythmic feeling. This whole group of monuments is also valuable because it helps to trace the ways of creating such outstanding works as the statue of the architect Hemiun. Only after comparing the statue of Hemiun with the heads of Gizah, it becomes clear that this statue is a natural stage of a long creative search, a monument in which the realistically truthful image of an Egyptian nobleman, a large slave owner, a royal relative who is confident in his significance is embodied to the greatest extent possible for the art of the Old Kingdom. , and at the same time an outstanding architect at the court of a powerful pharaoh. The social certainty of the image, so clearly expressed in the statue of Hemiun, which combines the cold arrogance of the appearance and the solemn immobility of the pose with the accurate and sober rendering of the heavy, fat body, is generally one of the most important elements of the style of sculptures of the Old Kingdom. After all, they had to reproduce not just the images of deceased ancestors, but the images of people who belonged to the top of society, which held the entire government in its hands.
Emphasizing the high social position of the depicted person was even more important for royal statues, where the main task was to create the image of the pharaoh as an unlimited ruler and son of God. The pharaohs were usually depicted with superhumanly powerful bodies and impassive faces that retained some undoubtedly portrait features, but at the same time were clearly idealized. Sometimes the idea of the divinity of the pharaoh was conveyed by purely external means: the king was depicted together with the gods, as an equal to them, or the sacred falcon overshadowed him with his wings, sitting on the back of his throne. A special kind of embodiment of the idea of the superhuman essence of the pharaoh was the image of the sphinx - a fantastic creature with the body of a lion and the portrait head of the king. It was the sphinxes that were the first royal statues that stood outside the temples and, therefore, available for viewing by the masses, to whom they had to give the impression of a supernatural and therefore irresistible force.
An exceptional place not only among such sculptures, but also in Egyptian art in general, is occupied by the famous Great Sphinx, located at the monumental gate and covered passage of the pyramid of Khafre in Giza. It is based on a natural limestone rock, which in all its form resembled the figure of a reclining lion and was carved in the form of a colossal sphinx, with the missing parts being added from suitably hewn limestone slabs. The dimensions of the Sphinx are enormous: its height is 20 m, length 57 m, the face is 5 m high, the nose is 1.70 m. The sacred snake, which, according to the beliefs of the Egyptians, protects the pharaohs and gods.), under the chin is an artificial beard worn by Egyptian kings and nobility. The face was painted brick red, the stripes of the handkerchief were blue and red. Despite the gigantic size, the face of the Sphinx still conveys the main portrait features of Pharaoh Khafre, as can be seen by comparing the Gizah Sphinx with other statues of this king. In ancient times, this colossal monster with the face of a pharaoh was supposed to leave an unforgettable impression, inspiring, like the pyramids, an idea of the incomprehensibility and power of the rulers of Egypt.
Sharply opposite in character to the statues of kings and nobles are the statuettes of servants and slaves, which were placed in the tombs of the nobility to serve the dead in the afterlife. Made of stone, and sometimes wood, and brightly painted, they depict people engaged in various jobs: we will find here a farmer with a hoe, and weavers, and porters, and rowers, and cooks. Distinguished by great expressiveness, these figurines are made by the simplest means, outside the canonical norms.
A large place in the art of the Old Kingdom was occupied by reliefs and paintings that covered the walls of tombs and temples, and here, too, the basic principles for the entire further development of these types of art were worked out. So, both types of Egyptian relief techniques were already used in the Old Kingdom: both the usual bas-relief and the incised, in-depth relief characteristic only of Egyptian art, in which the surface of the stone, which served as a background, remained untouched, and the contours of the images were cut, which thus turned out to be rather flat. Two types of wall painting techniques were also known: most of the paintings were made in the usual and subsequently for Egypt technique with tempera on a dry surface; in some tombs of Medum, this method was combined with the insertion of colored pastes into pre-prepared recesses. The paints were mineral: white paint was mined from limestone, red - from red ocher, black - from soot, green - from grated malachite, blue - from cobalt, copper, grated lapis lazuli, yellow - from yellow ocher.
In the art of the Old Kingdom, the main features of the content of reliefs and paintings and the main rules for the arrangement of scenes on the walls, as well as in the compositions of entire scenes, individual episodes, groups and figures that later became traditional, developed.
The content of images in reliefs and paintings was determined by their purpose. The reliefs that covered the walls of the funeral royal temples and covered passages leading to them included, as mentioned above, scenes glorifying the king in the form of a mighty lord (battles, capturing prisoners and booty, successful hunts) and as the son of a god (a king among the gods), as well as images, the purpose of which was to deliver the king's afterlife bliss. The reliefs in the tombs of the nobility also consisted of scenes that glorified the activities of the noble, and scenes intended to ensure his posthumous prosperity. Therefore, images of the owner of the tomb in such reliefs were made portraits for the same reason as funeral statues. In the best examples, the skill of the portrait reaches a very high level. This is how, for example, the architect Hesira, who lived during the 3rd dynasty, is depicted: an aquiline nose, thick eyebrows, an energetic mouth perfectly express the image of a strong, strong-willed person in all his unique individuality.
The reliefs and paintings of the tombs are the most valuable source for the history of the culture of Ancient Egypt. They depict rural work and the work of artisans, fishing and hunting in the Nile thickets and in the desert. Before us are vivid pictures of social inequality - the unbearable burden of labor of the bulk of the people and the wealthy, idle life of the ruling elite. The beating of non-payers of taxes is replaced by the amusement of the nobility, sowing and harvesting under the scorching sun - dancing dancers at the feast of the nobles. All these images are based on the same desire: to exalt the owner of the tomb, to emphasize his nobility and wealth, the importance of his position during his lifetime and the favors that he enjoyed with the pharaoh.
The same desire was reflected in the construction of the scenes, in the relationship of the figures to each other and in the approach to their depiction. The main place is everywhere occupied by the figure of the king or nobleman: it far exceeds all others in size and, in contrast to the diverse and moving groups of working people, is completely calm and motionless. Whether the king and the noble are sitting or walking, they still hold a staff and a rod - the symbols of their high rank - and equally dominate the entire scene, not mixing with the actions of its other participants, even in cases where such a situation is completely unbelievable, as, for example, in some hippo hunting scene. Characteristic is the difference in the construction on the plane of the figures of people occupying different social positions. As a rule, the image of the human figure in the reliefs and paintings of the Old Kingdom was firmly based on that canon, the composition of which dates back to the times of the Narmer plate. Deviations from these norms are most often found in the images of farmers, artisans and other ordinary ordinary people.
In these deviations from the canon, those changes in life and in worldview that took place in the course of the development of culture and the growth of knowledge and technical discoveries found their reflection in art. Naturally, the artists already saw a lot differently and could convey by other means; the task of creating new, more and more complex compositions that confronted them was an effective motivation for the growth of their skills and overcoming the immovable rules of the canon. Acute observation and the desire to reproduce true life give a special attraction to such creations of Egyptian masters. Feeling less constrained by the canon when depicting the work of the people and knowing this work well, they were able to show the life of the people and convey to us their inexhaustible artistic creativity, especially in the frequent images of folk singers, dancers, musicians; they even preserved for us the words of labor folk songs.
However, some deviations from the canon could not change the general conditional nature of the style of the reliefs and murals of the Old Kingdom. The belt arrangement of the scenes and their strictly defined sequence, as well as the general planar nature of the images, remain conditional; the sketchiness of many compositions is also preserved, in which the uniformity of figures is sometimes broken only by a change of attributes or turns of heads and hands. The conditionality of many techniques was also supported by the persisting belief in the magical effectiveness of the depicted: for example, the enemies of Egypt were invariably shown defeated, and the animals - pierced by arrows, since the conviction that everything depicted had the same degree of reality as did not disappear. and real life.
During the period of the Old Kingdom, artistic crafts gained great importance and development. Vessels made of various types of stone - alabaster, steatite, porphyry, granite, jasper; jewelry made of gold, malachite, turquoise, carnelian and other semi-precious stones, as well as faience pastes; artistic furniture made of precious dereya breeds - armchairs, stretchers, tents, sometimes with gold inlays, sometimes upholstered with gold leaf, wooden beds with artistically processed bone legs; products made of copper, bronze, clay - this is only a short list of those various items that were already being produced in the era of the Old Kingdom. As in other forms of art, the main forms and techniques that existed in the future for a very long time also developed in the artistic craft of this period. The products of the artistic craft of the Old Kingdom are characterized by the same strict and simple, complete and clear forms that distinguish all the art of this period. In the decorative details of these things, there is a lot of direct reflection of real life phenomena: for example, the legs of the bed are given the shape of powerful bull legs, beads and pendants reproduce flowers, etc. Artistic craft was of great importance for the development of all the art of the Old Kingdom. On the one hand, the processing of a number of materials was first developed and improved precisely during the creation of an artistic craft, opening the way for the decorative use of these materials in other areas of art; Thus, the beauty of polished stone surfaces and colored earthenware was first found and understood in the craft, and then already used in sculpture and architecture. On the other hand, artisans, closely connected with the folk environment, were constant conductors of its life-giving influence on the work of professional artists.
When exactly the most ancient statue of the world, the sculpture of the Sphinx, was erected, scientists have not yet determined: some believe that the world saw this grandiose structure as early as the thirtieth century BC. But most researchers are still more careful in their assumptions and claim that the Sphinx is no more than fifteen thousand years old.
This means that already at the time of the creation of the most grandiose monument of mankind (the height of the Sphinx exceeded twenty meters, and the length was more than seventy), art was already well developed in Egypt, in particular, sculpture. It turns out that the statue of the Sphinx is actually much older than the Egyptian culture, which appeared in the 4th millennium BC.
Most researchers question this version and so far agree that the face of the Sphinx is the face of Pharaoh Hevren, who lived around 2575-2465. BC e. - which means that it indicates that this grandiose structure was carved out of a monolithic limestone rock by the Egyptians. And he guards the pyramids of the pharaohs in Giza.
Almost all researchers agree that the funeral cult of the inhabitants of ancient Egypt played an important role in the development of sculpture - if only because they were convinced that the human soul could well return to earth to its body, a mummy (it was for this purpose that huge tombs were created, buildings in which the deceased bodies of pharaohs and nobles were supposed to be). If the mummy could not be preserved, it could well move into its likeness - a statue (which is why the ancient Egyptians called the sculptor "creating life").
They created this life according to once and for all established canons, from which they did not deviate for several millennia (especially for this, special instructions and manuals were even provided and developed). Ancient masters used special templates, stencils and grids with canonically established proportions and contours of people and animals.
The work of the sculptor consisted of several stages:
- Before starting to work on the statue, the master chose a suitable stone, usually a rectangular one;
- After that, using a stencil, he applied the desired pattern to it;
- Then he removed the excess stone by carving, after which he processed the details, polished and polished the sculpture.
Characteristics of Egyptian sculptures
Basically, ancient Egyptian statues depicted rulers, nobles. Also popular was the figure of a working scribe (he was usually depicted with a papyrus scroll on his knees). Sculptures of gods and rulers were usually put on public display in open spaces.
The statue of the Sphinx was especially popular - despite the fact that structures of such dimensions as in Giza were never made anywhere else, there were many of its reduced duplicates. Alleys with its copies and other mystical beasts could be seen in almost all the temples of ancient Egypt.
Considering that the Egyptians considered the pharaoh to be the embodiment of God on earth, the sculptors emphasized the greatness and invincibility of their rulers with special techniques - the arrangement of figures and scenes, their sizes, postures and gestures (poses intended to convey any moment or mood were not allowed).
The ancient Egyptians portrayed the gods only according to strictly defined rules (for example, Horus had the head of a falcon, while the god of the dead, Anubis, had a jackal). The poses of the human statues (both sitting and standing) were rather monotonous and the same. For all the seated figures, the pose of the pharaoh Khafre sitting on the throne was characteristic. The figure is majestic and static, the ruler looks at the world without any emotions and it is obvious to anyone who sees him that nothing can shake his power, and the character of the pharaoh is imperious and adamant.
If the sculpture depicting a man is standing, his left foot always takes a step forward, his hands are either lowered down, or he leans on a staff holding in his hands. After some time, another pose was added for men - the “scribe”, a man in the lotus position.
At first, only the sons of the pharaohs were depicted this way. The woman stands straight, her legs are closed, her right hand is lowered, her left is at her waist. Interestingly, she does not have a neck, her head is simply connected to her shoulders. Also, the craftsmen almost never drilled the gaps between her arms, body and legs - they usually marked them in black or white.
The bodies of the statues of the master were usually made powerful and well developed, giving the sculpture solemnity and grandeur. As for the faces, portrait features are, of course, present here. In the work on the statue, the sculptors discarded minor details, and gave faces an impassive expression.
The coloring of ancient Egyptian statues also did not differ in particular variety:
- male figures were painted red-brown,
- women's - in yellow,
- hair - in black;
- clothes - in white;
The Egyptians had a special relationship with the eyes of the sculptures - they believed that the dead through them could well observe earthly life. Therefore, the masters usually inserted precious, semi-precious stones or other materials into the eyes of the statues. This technique allowed them to achieve greater expressiveness and even revive them a little.
Egyptian statues (meaning not fundamental structures, but smaller items) were not designed to be viewed from all sides - they were completely frontal, many of them seem to lean back against a stone block, which serves as a background for them.
Egyptian sculptures are characterized by complete symmetry - the right and left half of the body are absolutely identical. Geometricity is felt in almost all the statues of ancient Egypt - this is most likely due to the fact that they were made of rectangular stone.
The evolution of Egyptian sculptures
Since creativity cannot but respond to the changes that take place in the life of society, Egyptian art did not stand still and changed somewhat over time - and began to be intended not only for funeral rites, but also for other structures - temples, palaces, etc.
If at first they depicted only gods (a large statue of one or another deity made of precious metals was located in the temple dedicated to him, in the altar), sphinxes, rulers and nobles, then later they began to depict ordinary Egyptians. These figurines were mostly made of wood.
A lot of small figurines made of wood and alabaster have survived to this day - and among them were figures of animals, sphinxes, slaves, and even property (many of them subsequently accompanied the dead to the other world).
Statues of the Early Kingdom (4th millennium BC)
Sculpture during this period developed mainly in the three largest cities of Egypt - On, Kyptos and Abydos: it was here that temples were located with statues of gods, sphinxes, mystical animals installed in them, which the Egyptians worshiped. Most of the sculptures were associated with the ritual of renewal of the physical strength of the ruler (“heb-sed”) - these are, first of all, either figures of sitting or walking pharaohs carved into the wall or represented in a round sculpture.
A striking example of this type of statue is the sculpture of Pharaoh Hasekhem sitting on a pedestal, dressed in ritual clothes. Already here you can see the main features of ancient Egyptian culture - the correct proportions, which are dominated by straight lines and monumentality of form. Despite the fact that his face has individual features, they are overly idealized, and his eyes have a convex eyeball, traditional for all sculptures of that era.
At this time, canonicity and brevity are established in the form of expression - secondary signs are discarded and attention is focused on the majesty in the image.
Statues of the Old Kingdom (XXX - XXIII centuries BC)
All statues of this period continue to be made according to previously established canons. It cannot be said that preference is given to any particular pose (especially for male figures) - both statues are popular in full growth with the left leg extended forward, and sitting on a throne, sitting with their legs crossed in the shape of a lotus or kneeling.
At the same time, precious or semi-precious stones were inserted into the eyes, and relief eyeliner was made. Moreover, the statues began to be decorated with jewels, thanks to which they began to acquire individual features (sculptural portraits of the architect Rahotep and his wife Nofret can serve as examples of such works).
At this time, wooden sculpture was significantly improved (for example, the figure known as the “Village Headman”), and in the tombs of those times one can often see figurines that depict working people.
Statues of the Middle Kingdom (XXI-XVII centuries BC)
During the Middle Kingdom in Egypt, there are a huge number of different schools - accordingly, the development of sculpture is undergoing significant changes. They begin to be made not only for tombs, but also for temples. At this time, the so-called cubic statue appeared, which is a figure enclosed in a monolithic stone. Wooden statues are still popular, which the craftsmen, after being cut out of wood, covered with soil and painted.
Sculptors are increasingly paying attention to the individual characteristics of a person - with the help of perfectly designed elements, they show in their works the character of a person, his age and even his mood (for example, with just a glance at the head of Pharaoh Senusret III, it becomes clear that it was once a strong-willed , imperious, ironic ruler).
Statues of the New Kingdom (XVI-XIV centuries BC)
During the period of the New Kingdom, monumental sculpture received special development. Not only does it more and more often go beyond the limits of the funerary cult, but individual features also begin to appear in it, which are not characteristic not only of official, but even of secular sculpture.
Yes, and secular sculpture, especially when it comes to the female figure, acquires softness, plasticity, becomes more intimate. If earlier women-pharaohs, according to the canons, were often depicted in full royal attire and even with a beard, now they get rid of these features and become elegant, graceful, refined.
Amarna period (beginning of the 14th century BC)
At this time, sculptors begin to abandon the highly idealized, sacred image of the pharaoh. For example, on the example of the huge statues of Amenhotep IV, one can see not only traditional techniques, but also an attempt to convey as accurately as possible the appearance of the pharaoh (both face and figure).
Another innovation was the depiction of figures in profile (previously the canon did not allow this). During this period, the world-famous head of Nefertiti in a blue tiara, created by the sculptors of the workshop of Thutmes, also arose.
Statues of the Late Kingdom (XI - 332 BC)
At this time, the masters begin to adhere to the canons less and less, and they gradually come to naught and become conditionally idealized. Instead, They begin to improve their technical skills, especially in the decorative part (for example, one of the best sculptures of that time is the head of the statue of Mentuemhet, made in a realistic style).
When Sais was in power, the masters again returned to monumentality, static and canonical poses, but they interpret this in their own way and their statues become more stylized.
After in 332 BC. Alexander the Great conquered Egypt, this country lost its independence, and the cultural heritage of ancient Egypt finally and irrevocably merged with ancient culture.
Details Category: Fine arts and architecture of ancient peoples Posted on 21.12.2015 10:46 Views: 8850The art of ancient Egypt is divided into three periods:
Art of the Old Kingdom, Art of the Middle Kingdom and Art of the New Kingdom. In each of these periods, its own style developed, its own canons were developed and innovations were introduced. Briefly, these periods can be characterized as follows.
General characteristics of the art of ancient Egypt
Art of the Old Kingdom (XXXII century-XXIV century BC)
The main canons of Egyptian art, which were then preserved over the centuries, took shape in the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. e. It was a monumental style, due to the fact that the art of Egypt was an integral part of the funeral ritual, closely connected with religion, which idolized the forces of nature and earthly power.
The Great Pyramids and the Great Sphinx belong to this time.
Pyramids of Egypt
The Egyptian pyramids are the greatest architectural monuments of Ancient Egypt. These are huge pyramidal stone structures used as tombs for the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. In total, more than 100 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt.
Pyramid of Neferefre in Abusir
Great Sphinx
The Great Sphinx at Giza is the oldest monumental sculpture on Earth. It is carved from a monolithic limestone rock in the form of a sphinx - a lion lying on the sand, whose face is given a portrait resemblance to Pharaoh Khafre (c. 2575-2465 BC). The length of the statue is 72 m, the height is 20 m; between the front paws in ancient times there was a small sanctuary (an altar dedicated to a deity).
Great Sphinx and Pyramid of Cheops
Since ancient times in Egypt, it was customary to depict the pharaoh in the form of a lion, exterminating his enemies. The circumstances and exact time of the construction of the sphinx have not yet been precisely determined. For local residents, the Sphinx was a kind of talisman, the ruler of the Nile. They believed that the flood level of the great river and the fertility of their fields depended on it.
Great Pyramid of Cheops
Cheops is the second pharaoh of the IV dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt (2589-2566 BC or 2551-2528 BC, presumably), the builder of the Great Pyramid at Giza. Cheops gained a reputation as a classic oriental despot and cruel ruler. He reigned for about 27 years. The pyramid is his greatest achievement, as well as the first among the seven wonders of the world in the ancient world. It is the only one of the wonders of the world that has survived to this day. The original height of 146.6 m (today only 137.5 m) was considered the tallest building in the world for 3500 years.
Art of the Middle Kingdom (XXI century-XVIII century BC)
The art of the Middle Kingdom carefully observed the traditions and canons of the Ancient, but also introduced its own characteristics. The beginning of the Middle Kingdom: after a long period of unrest and the collapse of Egypt into separate nomes, it united under the rule of the Theban rulers. But now the centralization was not absolute, as before. Local rulers (nomarchs) became richer and more independent and appropriated royal privileges. The tombs of the nobles began to be located not at the foot of the royal pyramids, but separately. the pyramids became more modest and smaller. During this period, the development of jewelry began.
With a decrease in the pathos of monumentality, genre diversity begins to develop. The portrait develops, individual features gradually increase in it.
Art of the New Kingdom (XVII century - XI century BC)
In the art of the New Kingdom, the manifestation of human feelings and reflections became noticeable.
The tombs have ceased to be ground-based and are hiding in the gorges. Temple architecture began to dominate. The priests became an independent political force, competing even with the power of the king. Although the pharaohs, their exploits and conquests were glorified in the temples.
For several centuries, the famous temples of Amon-Ra were built and completed in Karnak and Luxor, near Thebes.
The main temple of Amun-Ra in Karnak
The innovative stage is associated with the reign of the pharaoh-reformer Akhenaten in the 14th century. BC e. Akhenaten opposed the Theban priesthood, abolished the entire ancient pantheon of gods, made the priests his irreconcilable enemies.
Akhenaten
The art of the time of Akhenaten turned to the simple feelings of people and their mental states. Lyrical scenes of Akhenaten's family life appear in art: he hugs his wife, caresses the child.
But the reaction to his reforms began under one of his closest successors, Tutankhamun. All the old cults were soon restored. But many of the innovative ideas and techniques of Akhenaten were preserved in ancient Egyptian art.
Ramses II
The last famous conqueror Ramesses II began to cultivate a solemn-monumental style, and after Ramses there followed a period of long wars, the conquest of Egypt by the Ethiopians, the Assyrians. Egypt lost military and political power, and then cultural primacy. In the 7th century BC e. the Egyptian state for a time again united around the Sais rulers, ancient Egyptian art was also revived in its traditional forms. But there was no longer the former vitality in him, fatigue is felt, the drying up of creative energy. The world-historical role of Egypt was exhausted.
Architecture of Ancient Egypt
Architecture of the Early Kingdom
Monuments of monumental architecture of this period have practically not been preserved, because. the main building material was easily destroyed raw brick. Clay, reed and wood were also used. The stone was used only as a finishing material. The type of palace facades belongs to this era. Cult and memorial buildings are better preserved: sanctuaries, chapels and mastabas. During this period, some design techniques were developed: concave cornices, ornamental friezes (picturesque or sculptural), designing a doorway with a deep ledge.
The architecture of the Old Kingdom - "the time of the pyramids"
During this period, a powerful centralized state was created under the rule of the pharaoh, who is considered the son of the god Ra, this dictated the main type of architectural structure - the tomb. The largest royal tombs-pyramids are being created, on the constructions of which not only slaves, but also peasants worked for decades. Pyramids testify that exact sciences and crafts were well developed in ancient Egypt of that time.
Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara
Step pyramids were built by other pharaohs of the III dynasty. Towards the end of the Old Kingdom period, a new type of building appears - the solar temple, which was usually built on a hill and surrounded by a wall.
Mortuary Temple of Seti I at Abydos
Architecture of the Middle Kingdom
After Mentuhotep I in 2050 BC. e again united Egypt and restored the unified power of the pharaohs under the auspices of Thebes, the psychology of individualism began to dominate: everyone began to take care of their own immortality. Now not only the pharaoh, but also mere mortals began to claim privileges in the other world. The idea of equality after death arose, and this was immediately reflected in the technical side of the cult of the dead. Mastaba-type tombs became an unnecessary luxury. To ensure eternal life, one stele was already enough - a stone slab on which magical texts were written.
But the pharaohs continued to build tombs in the form of pyramids, although their size decreased, the material for construction was not two-ton blocks, but raw brick, the laying method changed. The basis is 8 capital stone walls. Other 8 walls departed from these walls at an angle of 45º, and the gaps between them were filled with fragments of stone, sand, brick. From above, the pyramids were lined with limestone slabs. The upper mortuary temple adjoined the eastern side of the pyramid, from which there was a covered passage to the temple in the valley. Currently, these pyramids are piles of ruins.
Mortuary Temple of Pharaoh Mentuhotep II
A new type of burial structures appeared: tombs. The main part of the tomb was a mortuary temple, decorated with a portico; in the center, a ramp led to a second terrace, where a second portico surrounded on three sides a hall of columns, in the center of which stood a pyramid made of stone blocks. Its foundation was a natural rock. On the west side was an open courtyard. The tomb of the pharaoh was located under the pillared hall.
New Kingdom architecture
Thebes began to play the main role in the architecture and art of the New Kingdom. Luxurious palaces and houses, magnificent temples are built in them. The glory of the city has been preserved for many centuries.
The construction of temples was carried out in three main directions: ground, rocky and semi-rocky temple complexes.
Facade of the rock temple of Ramses II
Architecture of the Late Kingdom
From the era of the XXVI dynasty, Thebes lose their political and artistic significance, and the city of Sais becomes the new capital of Egypt. Almost no architectural monuments of the Sais period have been preserved. In the few that have survived, there are ground and rock structures, some elements of temple architecture: hypostyles, pylons, chains of halls.
Hypostyle - a large hall of a temple or palace supported by columns with numerous, regularly placed columns.
Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak (Egypt)
In the architecture of the era of Persian rule, there is a gradual rejection of the type of monumental ensembles; Temples are becoming much smaller. The type of the classical colonnade of the New Kingdom period is preserved, but the splendor and detailed development of the decor are noticeably increased.
After the conquest of Egypt by the Greeks, a synthesis of local artistic culture with the traditions of antiquity takes place.
The Temple at Philae is evidence of the evolution of the traditions of ancient Egyptian art during the Hellenistic period
Sculpture of Ancient Egypt
The sculpture of Ancient Egypt is original and strictly canonically regulated. It was created and developed to represent the ancient Egyptian gods, pharaohs, kings and queens in physical form. Statues of gods and pharaohs were put on public display, usually in open spaces and outside temples. The most sacred image of God was in the temple. Many carved figurines have been preserved. Such figurines were made of wood, alabaster, a more expensive material. Wooden images of slaves, animals and property were placed in tombs to accompany the dead in the afterlife.
Statues of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III (Karnak)
There were also many images of Ka in the graves of ordinary Egyptians, mostly made of wood, some of which have survived. Ka is the spirit of man, a being of a higher order, a divine life force. After the death of a person, Ka continued to exist inside the tomb and accepted offerings.
Ka was depicted as a man with raised arms on his head, bent at the elbows.
Ka had and inanimate objects. The gods had several Ka.
The canon for the creation of ancient Egyptian sculpture: the color of the body of a man should have been darker than the color of the body of a woman, the hands of a seated person should have been exclusively on his knees. The rules for depicting the Egyptian gods: the god Horus should have been depicted with the head of a falcon, the god of the dead Anubis - with the head of a jackal, etc. The sculptural canon of Ancient Egypt existed for 3 thousand years.
The heyday of small sculpture began in the art of the Middle Kingdom. Although it was still associated with the funeral cult, but the figurines were already covered with soil and painted, whole multi-figured compositions were created in a round sculpture.
In the New Kingdom, monumental sculpture began to actively develop, the purpose of which began to go beyond the funeral cult. In the Theban sculpture of the New Kingdom, features of individuality appear. For example, portrait images of Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut is a female pharaoh of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt from the 18th dynasty. Hatshepsut completed the rebuilding of Egypt after the Hyksos invasion and erected many monuments throughout Egypt. She, along with Thutmose III, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, Ramses II and Cleopatra VII, is one of the most famous Egyptian rulers.
Hatshepsut
In the art of the New Kingdom, a sculptural group portrait also appears, especially images of a married couple.
An innovation was the depiction of figures entirely in profile, which was previously not allowed by the Egyptian canon. The fact that ethnic features were preserved in the portrait was also new. The lyrical beginning is manifested in the Amarna reliefs, filled with natural plasticity and not containing canonical frontal images.
The culmination of the development of fine arts is rightly considered the work of the sculptors of Tutmes' workshop. Among them is the famous head of Queen Nefertiti in a blue tiara.
Bust of Nefertiti. New Museum (Berlin)
Nefertiti is the “main wife” of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the XVIII dynasty Akhenaten (c. 1351-1334 BC). It is believed that Egypt has never produced such a beauty before. She was called "Perfect"; her face adorned temples all over the country.
In the sculpture of the Late Kingdom, the skills of the ancient high craftsmanship of sculpture are somewhat fading. Again, static, conditional outlines of faces, canonical poses, and even a semblance of an “archaic smile”, characteristic of the art of the Early and Ancient Kingdoms, become relevant again. The sculptures of the Ptolemaic period are also mostly made in the traditions of the Egyptian canon. But the Hellenistic culture influenced the nature of the interpretation of the face, there is greater plasticity, softness and lyricism.
Statue of Osiris. Louvre (Paris)
Painting of Ancient Egypt
All sculptural images in ancient Egypt were brightly painted. Paint composition: egg tempera, viscous substances and resins. A real fresco was not used, only "fresco a secco" (wall painting, performed on hard, dried plaster, re-moistened. Paints ground on vegetable glue, egg or mixed with lime are used). From above, the painting was covered with a layer of varnish or resin in order to preserve the image for a long time. Most often, small statues, especially wooden ones, were painted this way.
Many Egyptian paintings survived thanks to the dry climate of ancient Egypt. Pictures were created to improve the life of the deceased in the afterlife. Scenes of a journey to the afterlife and a meeting in the afterlife with a deity (the court of Osiris) were depicted.
Part of the Book of the Dead from Akhmim, depicting the court of Osiris (IV-I centuries BC)
The earthly life of the deceased was often depicted to help him do the same in the realm of the dead.
In the New Kingdom, they began to bury the Book of the Dead with the deceased, which was considered important for the afterlife.
book of the dead
In the era of the Old Kingdom, there was a custom of reading spells aloud for the deceased king. Later, similar texts began to be recorded in the tombs of Egyptian nobles. By the time of the Middle Kingdom, collections of funeral spells were already written on the surface of sarcophagi and became available to anyone who could purchase such a sarcophagus. In the New Kingdom and later, they were recorded on papyrus scrolls or on leather. These scrolls are called the "Book of the Dead": a heap of prayers, chants, hymns and spells associated with the funeral cult. Gradually elements of morality penetrate into the Book of the Dead.
Judgment of Osiris
This is the 125th chapter, which describes the posthumous judgment of Osiris (the king and judge of the underworld) over the deceased. Illustration for the chapter: Osiris with a crown and a rod sits on a throne. At the top are 42 gods. In the center of the hall there are scales on which the gods weigh the heart of the deceased (the symbol of the soul among the ancient Egyptians). On one cup of the scales there is a heart, that is, the conscience of the deceased, light or burdened with sins, and on the other the Truth in the form of a feather of the goddess Maat or a figure of Maat. If a person led a righteous life on earth, then his heart and feather weighed the same, if he sinned, then his heart weighed more. The acquitted deceased was sent to the afterlife, the sinner was eaten by the monster Amat (lion with the head of a crocodile).
At the trial, the deceased turns to Osiris, and then to each of the 42 gods, justifying himself in a mortal sin, which one or another god was in charge of. The same chapter contains the text of the exculpatory speech.
The gods weigh the heart of the deceased (Book of the Dead)
The main colors of painting in Ancient Egypt were red, blue, black, brown, yellow, white and green.
Sculpture of Ancient Egypt
Sculpture of Ancient Egypt- one of the most original and strictly canonically developed areas of art of Ancient Egypt. Sculpture was created and developed to represent the ancient Egyptian gods, pharaohs, kings and queens in physical form. There were also many images of ka in the graves of ordinary Egyptians, mostly made of wood, some of which have survived. Statues of gods and pharaohs were put on public display, as a rule, in open spaces and outside temples. The Great Sphinx at Giza has not been repeated anywhere else in full size, but the alleys of reduced copies of the sphinx and other animals have become an indispensable attribute of many temple complexes. The most sacred image of God was in the temple, in the altar part, as a rule, in a boat or a barque, usually made of precious metals, however, not a single such image has been preserved. A huge number of carved figurines have been preserved - from figures of gods to toys and dishes. Such figurines were made not only from wood, but also from alabaster, a more expensive material. Wooden images of slaves, animals and property were placed in tombs to accompany the dead in the afterlife.
Statues, as a rule, retain the original shape of a block of stone or a piece of wood from which it is carved. In traditional statues of seated scribes, similarities with the shape of a pyramid (cubic statue) are just as often found.
There was a very strict canon for the creation of ancient Egyptian sculpture: the color of the body of a man had to be darker than the color of the body of a woman, the hands of a seated person had to be exclusively on his knees. There were certain rules for depicting the Egyptian gods: for example, the god Horus should have been depicted with the head of a falcon, the god of the dead Anubis with the head of a jackal. All sculptures were created according to this canon and the following was so strict that for almost three thousand years of the existence of Ancient Egypt it has not changed.
Sculpture of the Early Kingdom
Sculpture of the early dynastic period comes mainly from the three major centers where the temples were located - She, Abydos and Koptos. The statues served as an object of worship, rituals and had a dedicatory purpose. A large group of monuments was associated with the “heb-sed” rite - the ritual of renewing the physical power of the pharaoh. This type includes types of sitting and walking figures of the king, executed in round sculpture and relief, as well as the image of his ritual run - which is characteristic exclusively for compositions in relief.
The list of heb-sed monuments includes the statue of pharaoh Khasekhem, represented as sitting on a throne in ritual attire. This sculpture indicates the improvement of techniques: the figure has the correct proportions and is modeled in volume. Here the main features of the style have already been revealed - the monumentality of the form, the frontality of the composition. The pose of the statue, which fits into the rectangular block of the throne, is motionless; straight lines predominate in the outlines of the figure. Khasekhem's face is portrait, although his features are largely idealized. The setting of the eyes in the orbit with a convex eyeball draws attention. A similar technique of execution extended to the entire group of monuments of that time, being a characteristic stylistic feature of portraits of the Early Kingdom. By the same period, the canonicity of the full-length Pre-dynastic period (Ancient Egypt) | pre-dynastic period]] is established and gives way in the plastic of the Early Kingdom to the correct transfer of the proportions of the human body.
Sculpture of the Old Kingdom
Statue of Kaaper ("Village Headman"). Cairo Museum. Egypt.
Sculpture of the Middle Kingdom
Significant changes in sculpture take place precisely in the Middle Kingdom, which is largely due to the presence and creative rivalry of many local schools that gained independence during the period of collapse. Since the XII dynasty, ritual statues have been more widely used (and, accordingly, made in large quantities): they are now installed not only in tombs, but also in temples. Among them, images associated with the rite of heb-sed (the ritual revival of the pharaoh's life force) still dominate. The first stage of the rite was symbolically associated with the murder of the elderly ruler and was performed over his statue, which in composition resembled the canonical images and sculptures of sarcophagi. This type includes the heb-sed statue of Mentuhotep-Nebhepetr, depicting the pharaoh in a pointedly frozen pose with arms crossed on his chest. The style is distinguished by a large share of conventionality and generalization, which is generally typical for sculptural monuments of the beginning of the era. In the future, sculpture comes to a more subtle modeling of faces and greater plastic dissection: this is most evident in female portraits and images of private individuals.
Over time, the iconography of the kings also changes. By the 12th Dynasty, the idea of the pharaoh's divine power gave way in depictions to an insistent attempt to convey human individuality. Sculpture with official themes flourished during the reign of Senusret III, who was depicted in all ages from childhood to adulthood. The best of these images are considered to be the obsidian head of Senusret III and the sculptural portraits of his son Amenemhat III. The original find of the masters of local schools can be considered a type of cubic statue - an image of a figure enclosed in a monolithic stone block.
The art of the Middle Kingdom is the era of the heyday of small-scale plastic arts, most of which are still associated with the funeral cult and its rites (sailing on a boat, bringing sacrificial gifts, etc.). The figurines were carved from wood, covered with soil and painted. Often, entire multi-figure compositions were created in round sculpture (similar to how it was customary in the reliefs of the Old Kingdom).
Sculpture of the New Kingdom
In the art of the New Kingdom, a sculptural group portrait appears, especially images of a married couple.
The art of relief acquires new qualities. This artistic area is noticeably influenced by some genres of literature that became widespread in the era of the New Kingdom: hymns, military chronicles, love lyrics. Often, texts in these genres are combined with relief compositions in temples and tombs. In the reliefs of the Theban temples, there is an increase in decorativeness, a free variation in the techniques of bas-relief and high relief, combined with colorful paintings. Such is the portrait of Amehotep III from the tomb of Khaemhet, which combines different heights of the relief and in this respect is an innovative work. The reliefs are still arranged in registers, allowing the creation of narrative cycles of vast spatial extent.
Amarna period
The art of the Amarna period is remarkable for its remarkable originality, which stems primarily from the nature of the new worldview. The most unusual fact is the rejection of a strictly idealized, sacred understanding of the image of the pharaoh. The new style was even reflected in the colossi of Amenhotep IV installed in the temple of the Aten at Karnak. These statues contain not only the typical canonical techniques of monumental art, but also a new understanding of portraiture, which now required a reliable transfer of the pharaoh's appearance up to the characteristic features of the body structure. The credibility criterion was a kind of protest against the former official art, so the word "maat" - truth - is filled with a special meaning. Images of Akhenaten are a curious example of a combination of authenticity with the requirement of extreme generalization and normativity, characteristic of Egyptian art. The shape of the head of the pharaoh, the unusually elongated oval of the face, thin arms and narrow chin - all these features are carefully preserved and reflected in the new tradition, but at the same time all visual techniques were fixed on special samples - sculptural models.
The characteristic techniques of depicting the pharaoh were also extended to members of his family. A frank innovation was the depiction of the figures entirely in profile, which was previously not allowed by the Egyptian canon. The fact that ethnic features were preserved in the portrait was also new: such is the head of the pharaoh's mother, Queen Tii, inlaid with gold and glassy paste. An intimate lyrical beginning is manifested in the Amarna reliefs, filled with natural plasticity and not containing canonical frontal images.
The culmination of the development of fine arts is rightly considered the work of the sculptors of the workshop. Among them is the well-known polychrome head of Queen Nefertiti in a blue tiara. Together with the completed works, a lot of plaster masks were found in the excavations of the sculptural workshops, which served as models.
Sculpture of the Late Kingdom
Notes
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