Ancient Egyptian art is highly symbolic and merges abstract style with naturalism. This post serves as an overview of the many phases and transitions of ancient Egyptian art, mostly concentrating on styles of art between 3000 BC and 300 AD.
At this time, art was not just a compliment to function. The main motive for art creation was to assist survival. In this sense, it was a tool for explaining life and teaching survival skills to those who lived in a time before written words.
One of the best examples of survival art comes from ancient Egypt. Painting, sculpture and architecture mostly originated along the Nile River, where quality of life was dictated by the river. To simplify this: life was good when the river flooded and bad when it dried up. The effects of these conditions were evident in various art forms of ancient Egypt. Stories about prosperity and famine were told through hieroglyphics that were either carved or painted onto walls.
Painting
Hieroglyphics are also called pictographs. They were carved into walls, sandstone, quarts, and granite. In other circumstances they were drawn onto papyrus, the Egyptian form of paper.
These markings were symbols of the unfolding history in Egypt. In fact, artists worked with the intention of preservation, in addition to making survival tactics known.
However, these pictures were unique in the sense that they often merged animals and people. For some time, ancient Egyptian art showed humans as stick figures but put much detail into depicting animals. This heighten state of symbolism allows researchers and historians to better understand the psychology of ancient Egyptian culture.
Sculpture
One insight about art from ancient Egypt is that there is a “form follows function” mentality. While detail was important in engravings, works of sculpture were abstract. Objects of focus were more geometric.
For instance, in some of the earliest sculptures, women were often shaped round because of their status as “child bearers.” Men took on a more true-to-life look because of their ability to hunt, gather and lead.
In both types of sculptures, a subtractive method of carving was used, meaning the objects had no faces or just simple features. This is especially apparent in later sculptures which made men and women indistinguishable.
Ancient Egyptian sculptures weren’t about the represented object; they served as history records as well as symbols of eternity. In fact, the “ka statue” was crafted with the intention of being a resting place for the spirit of an individual after he (which was more common than she) past onto the next life.
Architecture
Many Egyptian artifacts exist today, but one of the most significant surviving masterpieces of ancient Egyptian art are the pyramids. They were built during the time of the Old Kingdom, but lacked a stability necessary to keep thieves away. However, not only were the structures fascinating, they were also decorated with symbolic carvings on the outside walls.
Another form of architecture after the pyramid was the funerary temple. Because of it’s geometric form and use of columns, these were considered innovative works of art. Also, many temples had frescoes painted on top of dry (and sometimes wet) plaster to make the art and structure more durable.
Aside from that it was a place where the pharaoh would go to worship his (or her) god. When that individual passed away, others would go to that temple to worship the late pharaoh.
The art of ancient Egypt ushered in a time of reigning power in Greece, which continued to influence art in culture, allowing paintings, statues and architecture to further evolve.
Be an Artist in 2 minutes with Segmation SegPlay® PC (see more details here)
Outside The Lines 
Pingback: Ancient Egypt Arts | Xper Dunn Is Here
Very informative. I really appreciate your sharing about little known facts about art. I find your blog simply lovely, so I nominated your blog for the “One Lovely Blog Award.” If you’re interested, please visit my page for rules in accepting. Ok too if you’re not into the awards thing! 🙂 Lovely day!
Exquisite…. I’m half british half Egyptian and i loved the way you detailed the issue. Egyptain art is one of the wonders many have failed to proceed similar. I really applaud you! keep it up.
To understand most of the Egyptian artwork that we see in museums and books, we must understand that it was produced by elite Egyptians, mostly for specific functions, and that it was an integral part of their world view. It is important that we understand the purpose of the artwork, or the concepts that shaped it, because a lack of such information has often led people to unfavorably compare it to the art of other cultures. For example, while the ancient Egyptians produced sculptures that were intricately detailed and lifelike in many ways, they never turned the body and twisted it through space as we find in classical Greek statuary.
Thank you for your comment and stopping by. http://www.segmation.com
i love this post!
What do you love about it the most? http://www.segmation.com
Reblogged this on archiabyssniya and commented:
he
earlier editions also made a clear distinction between two
curiously labelled divisions: the historical styles derived from
Egypt and the classical world of the Mediterranean and the nonhistorical
styles which embraced any non-European architecture.
The latest edition makes no such distinction and takes a
much more global view. Such a change in approach owes as
much to politics and an awareness of where the market is to be
found as to art history.
Francesco Borromini, Guarino Guarini and
Balthasar Neumann are prominent. Vierzehnheiligen, for example,
is discussed in terms of the control of clear light on curved
surfaces, and in the relation of architecture, sculpture and
decoration. The main reason for its inclusion, as of the other
examples from the baroque, is, however, that there is a freedom
of planning and an exploitation of non-euclidean geometry.