Ancient Egyptian pictorial canon. What took the whole day? What canonical attitudes developed in Egyptian sculpture?

Artistic canon:

A canon is a set of rules developed in the process of artistic practice and established traditions. The rendering of a figure on a plane combines frontal and profile elements: head and legs in profile, shoulders in frontal view, torso in three-quarter view.

Egyptian painters did not strive to capture what they saw from one point of view; they had a different task: to depict a person in his substantial state. The Egyptians did not engage in drawing from life. The coloring was also restrained and not variegated - combinations of yellow and brown with blue and green predominated.

All the drawings of the Egyptian masters were linear and flat, they had no volume, perspective, or chiaroscuro.

Linear drawings were painted in color, without introducing additional tones or color shadows. The figures were outlined with a sharp outline: male figures in black, female figures in red.

The size of a person's figure was determined by his social status. The figure of a pharaoh or a noble person was depicted several times larger than those close to him, and especially slaves.

Architecture:

EgyptEgyptians, regardless of their social status, built their houses from fragile materials - reeds, wood, clay or raw bricks and never used stone.

Steles and mastabas

Architectural structures made of stone were intended only for the dead and for the worship of gods. The oldest surviving human burials indicate that the Egyptians stockpiled food for the afterlife. The tombs of the 1st and 2nd dynasties, regardless of whether they belonged to kings or ordinary members of the community, were built from raw brick and wood, although some of their elements were already made of stone. For example, from the tombs of the pharaohs of the 1st dynasty in the Helwan necropolis, stone slabs (steles) are known, which were embedded face down into the ceiling of the chamber above the burial. These steles were carved with a primitive convex image of the deceased, his name and titles, basic foodstuffs, vessels with drinks and hieroglyphic signatures for them. This custom was clearly connected with the idea that this entire set would be preserved even after the food placed in the grave had decayed and the body of the owner of the tomb had turned to dust. Immortalization in an imperishable stone was considered as a magical means of ensuring the eternal existence of the deceased and the means of subsistence he needed. Soon stone steles began to be placed in the walls of tombs; they acquired larger sizes and more varied shapes, gradually turning into<ложные двери>in the western wall of the tomb. It was believed that the deceased, depicted above the lintel, would leave the burial chamber through this door to taste the dishes that his relatives would regularly bring to the tomb, and therefore their names were written on the panel of the false door and their figures were depicted.

During the 3rd and 4th dynasties, stone pyramids were built for the pharaohs. Around them there were rows of mastaba tombs, which the rulers gave to their highest dignitaries and associates. Mastabas had numerous rooms; during the V Dynasty there were up to a hundred of them. They were richly decorated with reliefs reproducing the lifetime deeds of the owner of the tomb, including the performance of official duties, as well as forms of manifestation of royal favor.

Pyramids and temples

The very first pyramids in ancient Egypt were built in the form of steps. The only known step pyramid in Egypt that has survived to this day is the Pyramid of Djoser. It consists of six steps and its height is about 62 meters. The descent from the entrance leads to the burial chamber. Underground galleries surround the pyramid on all sides except the south.

Just as the mastaba had a false door facing east, the cult chapel in the royal pyramids was also located in the eastern part. By the era of the IV Dynasty, it had turned into a temple of complex layout with a courtyard decorated with columns, a vast hall, along the perimeter of which there were statues of the pharaoh, religious premises and the main sanctuary facing the pyramid. This temple at the pyramid was connected by a long covered passage running in an easterly direction right up to the border of the desert and cultivated fields, covered with water during the annual floods of the Nile. Here, at the very edge of the water, there was a lower one,<долинный>temple with religious premises. Food and everything necessary for the funeral cult of the pharaoh was delivered here by boat during high water. They were carried along a covered passage to the temple at the pyramid and offered to the pharaoh, whose spirit (ka) could leave the sarcophagus to eat the prepared dishes.

The Valley Temple of Khafre - a simple, unadorned but massive structure of huge rectangular granite blocks - still stands next to the great sphinx with the face of the pharaoh himself.

A notable feature of this temple is a complex drainage system of copper pipes with a length of more than 320 m. It was laid under the floor of the temple and brought out, and it was not rainwater from the roof that flowed through it (although there was a special device for this as well), but waste from ritually unclean religious ceremonies that were required to be removed from the sacred space.

The magnificent achievements of the temple builders of the Old Kingdom era can only be judged from individual fragments of buildings. The architects of that time demonstrated an amazing level of mastery of technical techniques for processing the hardest types of stone. Meanwhile, the royal architects of subsequent times preferred to build from softer material and from smaller blocks.

Thebes

The next period of flourishing of Egyptian architecture was the reign of the XII dynasty, whose religious capital was located in Thebes. The buildings of that era have not been preserved in their original form, with the exception of the temple complex on the eastern bank of the Nile at Karnak. This is primarily a white limestone chapel dating back to the reign of Pharaoh Sesostris I. Some details of this complex were discovered in the masonry of the third pylon, erected by Amenhotep III during the 18th dynasty. This pharaoh, using the said chapel as a quarry, unwittingly preserved for posterity an architectural pearl, its value far surpassing any of the grandiose buildings he erected in his quest for sovereign greatness.

Since the pharaohs of the 18th dynasty began to carve out secret tombs for themselves in the Valley of the Kings near Thebes, they had to separate their mortuary temples (corresponding to the temples at the pyramids of the Old Kingdom era) and the tombs themselves. At this time, a new style emerged in architecture, and all mortuary churches followed the same type. They consist of a pylon - an impressive entrance structure in the form of two towers with a portal connecting them, leading to a partially open courtyard with a colonnade on the north and south sides. The entrance through the second pylon gave access to the next courtyard with a colonnade - a kind of hall for festivities in honor of the gods, followed by several hypostyle halls. Around them along the perimeter there were cult premises, treasuries, shops for selling sacred objects used in rituals, halls for preparing sacrifices and prayer rooms in which images of gods were placed. Literally every square meter of the temple walls, inside and out, was covered with painted reliefs glorifying the wars and other deeds of the pharaohs, everyday temple rituals and major religious holidays. Hieroglyphic inscriptions tell of the exploits of kings and their offerings to the gods. The funeral cult to which such temples were dedicated was intended to serve the pharaoh located in a remote rock tomb.

A series of royal mortuary temples stretched from north to south along the edge of the desert west of Thebes. Each of them was dedicated to the cult of one of the rulers buried in the Valley of the Kings. Behind the temples are the tombs of nobles carved into limestone.

In Karnak, over the course of about 2000 years, a complex of structures was created for the main state temple, dedicated to the king of the gods Amun-Ra. Currently, it consists of rows of columns, ruins of pylons, overturned stone blocks; monumental obelisks (monolithic stone pillars) with numerous hieroglyphic inscriptions. Some of the painted reliefs are very well preserved, others have lost their original appearance, and others have turned to dust. Each pharaoh sought to build a pylon, colonnade, portal, hall, obelisk, or leave a hieroglyphic inscription with his name and title in honor of the great god of the Egyptian power, but first of all to immortalize himself. During the reign of Ramesses II, the Great Hypostyle Hall with 134 columns was completed.

The ensemble of temples at Karnak, more than 1 km long, is connected by an avenue of sphinxes to the temple at Luxor with its fantastic colonnade - the creation of Amenhotep III - and with a giant pylon built by Ramesses II in memory of the wars he waged in Asia.

Much higher along the Nile, in Abu Simbel, Ramses II built a temple of incredible size. This original structure is carved into the rock, and its courtyard and religious premises are built of sandstone. Outside there are four colossal statues of a seated Ramesses II, carved from rock monoliths.

Ancient Egypt sculpture:

The sculpture of Ancient Egypt is 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 placed on public display, usually in open spaces and outside temples. The Great Sphinx in Giza was never replicated in life-size anywhere else, but alleys made from smaller copies of the Sphinx and other animals became an indispensable attribute of many temple complexes. The most sacred image of God was located in the temple, in the altar, usually in a boat or barque, usually made of precious metals, although not a single such image has survived. 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 the block of stone or piece of wood from which it was carved. In traditional statues of seated scribes, similarities to the shape of a pyramid (cubic statue) are also often found.

The statues were almost always painted, but this coloring, in our opinion, was quite conventional and rather resembled tinting. The similarity is also emphasized by the architectonic structure of the statues themselves, which formed an indivisible organic whole with the architectural structures to which they belonged.

Old Kingdom sculptures usually retain the basic shapes of the block of stone from which they were carved. In many cases, the sculptor even emphasized this genesis by leaving the figure close to the stone massif, which in this case served as a background.

There was a very strict canon for the creation of ancient Egyptian sculpture:

An indispensable condition was the depiction of the entire figure, either standing with the left leg extended forward - a pose of movement in eternity, either sitting on a cube-shaped throne, or in a “scribe” pose with legs crossed on the ground.

the color of the man's body had to be darker than the color of the woman's body;

the hands of a seated person should lie on his knees or on his chest, with a whip and scepter;

The seated statue depicted a man sitting on a cubic throne, legs tightly closed (knees and feet), back straight;

The faces were depicted without emotion: the lips are tightly compressed, the chin is pushed forward, the eyes are looking at the horizon; it is impossible to “meet your gaze” with such a statue;

Samples and types of sculpture: image of the pharaoh:

Conventionally, there are two typologies for depicting characters of divine rank: sitting or standing. The hands rest on the hips or are crossed on the chest, without any gaps between the arms and the torso. The pharaohs had powerful bodies and impassive faces, which, however, retained portrait features. On the head was a Klaft (the headscarf of the Egyptian pharaohs, usually striped and with long ends hanging down to the shoulders). The uraeus is an accessory to the royal attire of the pharaohs, which was a vertical, sometimes highly stylized image of the cobra goddess Wadjet, the patroness of Lower Egypt, attached to the forehead.

Crowns were the ceremonial headdresses. The following types of crowns were known: 1) the white crown of Upper Egypt, shaped like a pin or a bottle;

2) the red crown of Lower Egypt, which was a truncated inverted cone with a flat bottom and a high raised rear part;

3) a double crown, combining the first two and symbolizing the unity of the country;

There were certain rules for depicting Egyptian gods:

Thus, the god Horus should be depicted with the head of a falcon, the god of the dead Anubis - with the head of a jackal.

Reliefs of ancient Egypt:

When making reliefs and wall paintings, the traditional technique of planar arrangement of the figure was used:

Legs and face were depicted in profile

Eye in front

Shoulders and lower body are in a three-quarter turn.

The sculptors tried to show the character from different angles in this way, combining the most advantageous vantage points.

The reliefs of the Old Kingdom unfolded one above the other; each presented a narrative sequence in such a way that it could be read.

Reflection of religion in sculpture:

Egyptian sculpture, like architecture, was constantly associated with religion.

All the statues have straight heads, almost identical arms and legs, and the same attributes. The bodies of the male figures are painted brick-brown, the female figures yellow, all have black hair, and white clothes.

Being the embodiment of Ka (in the religion of the ancient Egyptians - the human spirit, a being of a higher order, personified life force, considered divine), the sculpture expressed ideological and artistic canons.

The eyes of the statue were inlaid with crystal, wood, and semi-precious stones, a wig made of horse or human hair was put on the head, and earrings were inserted into the ears. In this form, Ka was in the burial chamber, guarding the sarcophagus with the mummy.

Reliefs and paintings in the tombs of the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom (Egypt):

Each burial initially recorded the name of the deceased.

Mentioning the name logically required that the lifetime titles and merits of the deceased also be listed. From this grew a detailed pictorial and/or written account of his life. compositional forms, “signs” were gradually selected and canonized, becoming “sacred”.

Over time, the very fact of depicting something made the depicted

an object of the sacred world, an object magically immortalized. The ancient kingdom was characterized by “belief in the unconditional reality of artistic images.”

20. monuments of Egypt:

Temple of Hatshepsut - a temple built in honor of the death of Queen Hatshepsut. Located in the West Bank of Luxor, this magnificent temple was built by the architect Senenmut, in honor of the only woman who ruled Egypt as a pharaoh. The temple, with its magnificent walls, beautiful terraces, elegant columns and hieroglyphic carvings, also tells the story of Hatshepsut's journey to what is believed to be modern-day Somalia. From this journey she brought back such treasures as ebony, ivory, gold and myrtle trees.

In Luxor, in the “city of the dead,” a well-preserved temple of Queen Hatshepsut stands near a steep cliff. For many years, the queen awakened the imagination of novelists and asked Egyptologists more and more new riddles. After the death of her father, Thutmose I, she married her half-brother Thutmose II. When he died at a fairly early age, his only heir was the young Thutmose III, the son of one of the pharaoh's younger wives. Hatshepsut ruled the state on his behalf and remained on the throne for 22 years.
To this day, the death of Hatshepsut remains a mystery. Her mummy has not been identified. The version that she was killed by her son-in-law and nephew Thutmose III has also not been confirmed. But, undoubtedly, the first thing he did after becoming a ruler was to hasten to remove the image of Hatshepsut from all monuments and temples and replace it with his own.
Senenmut, the architect and, some believe, lover of Hatshepsut, built a mortuary temple at the foot of a 300-meter cliff. The temple complex is located on three terraces. On the middle wall frescoes report the queen's famous journey to the sacred country of Punt (probably present-day Somalia). This depicts the greeting of the queen, represented in a male form, to the corpulent king of Punta, as well as the exchange of goods and their transportation. In the Birth Hall, the divine origin of Hatshepsut is immortalized. A ramp leads to the upper halls. Unfortunately, Coptic monks - in some periods the temple served as a Christian monastery - destroyed most of the wall paintings.

Question 21. The culture of ancient China and its features .

Chinese writing

The states and cultures that previously existed on the territory of modern China have been known for more than six thousand years. Chinese civilization is considered one of the oldest and longest lasting known to man. The Chinese writing system is one of the oldest forms of writing still in use today.

Chinese inventions

The inventions of the ancient Chinese gave many benefits to the world. As it turned out, paper became the greatest invention of mankind. It is believed that paper appeared in China at a time when Europeans were just beginning to develop their own paper production. Moreover, the Chinese are also credited with the invention of the compass, typewriter and gunpowder.

The culture of ancient China had a profound influence on neighboring countries. Japan, Vietnam and Korea, in particular, have borrowed many elements of ancient Chinese culture. The most obvious influence was the Chinese script, which was adopted by these countries to varying degrees.

Homo erectus formed the basis of China's first ancient civilization (lat. Homo erectus ) , which is currently called Sinanthropus (lat. Sinanthropus pekinensis - “Beijing man”). Archaeological finds in the Zhoukoudian Cave showed that this civilization flourished for more than three hundred thousand years. Sinanthropus ("Peking man") was well acquainted with fire and knew how to make some useful tools.

There was a wide variety of cultures among the different regions of China. However, China's vast territory remained unified until the Chinese Civil War, which divided the country into the People's Republic of China and autonomous Hong Kong and Macau.

The world's oldest civilization, Chinese, occupies a huge part of East Asia. The culture of ancient China is fraught with many interesting and mysterious aspects. Modern China leads the world economy and also has great purchasing power in the modern market.

The sculpture of Ancient Egypt is 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 placed on public display, usually in open spaces and outside temples. The Great Sphinx in Giza was never replicated in life-size anywhere else, but alleys made from smaller copies of the Sphinx and other animals became an indispensable attribute of many temple complexes. The most sacred image of God was located in the temple, in the altar, usually in a boat or barque, usually made of precious metals, although not a single such image has survived. 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 the block of stone or piece of wood from which it was carved. In traditional statues of seated scribes, similarities to the shape of a pyramid (cubic statue) are also often found.

There was a very strict canon for creating ancient Egyptian sculpture: the color of a man’s body had to be darker than the color of a woman’s body, the hands of a seated person had to be exclusively on his knees. There were certain rules for depicting Egyptian gods: for example, the god Horus should be 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 adherence was so strict that during the almost three-thousand-year history of Ancient Egypt it did not undergo changes.

Early Kingdom Sculpture

The sculpture of the Early Dynastic period comes mainly from three major centers where temples were located - Ona, Abydos and Koptos. The statues served as objects of worship, rituals and had a dedicatory purpose. A large group of monuments was associated with the “heb-sed” ritual - a ritual of renewing the physical power of the pharaoh. This type includes the types of sitting and walking figures of the king, executed in round sculpture and relief, as well as the image of his ritual running - characteristic exclusively for compositions in relief.

The list of Kheb-sed monuments includes a statue of Pharaoh Khasekhem, represented sitting on a throne in ritual attire. This sculpture indicates an improvement in technical techniques: the figure has correct proportions and is volumetrically modeled. The main features of the style have already been identified here - monumental form, frontal composition. The pose of the statue is motionless, fitting into the rectangular block of the throne; straight lines predominate in the outlines of the figure. Khasekhem's face is portrait-like, although his features are largely idealized. The placement of the eyes in the orbit with a convex eyeball is noteworthy. 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 predynastic period (Ancient Egypt)|predynastic period]] standing at full height was established and gave way in the plastic arts of the Early Kingdom to the correct rendering of the proportions of the human body.

New features also appeared in the reliefs. If in the previous era masters usually preferred multi-figure compositions, now they strived for a laconic form of expression. The more secondary, private features are discarded in the images, the more the main and essential appears in the image, acquiring a multi-valued meaning, elevating it to the category of symbol. A clear example of this is given by the famous stele from Abydos of the king of the 1st dynasty Jet. Here the artist found simple and meaningful visual means. The hieroglyph of the snake, meaning the name Jet, fits into a rectangular field above the conventional reproduction of the palace facade “serekh”, which symbolized the earthly abode of the pharaoh and served as the home of the deity, embodied in the guise of the reigning ruler.

The strict vertical division of the facade, similar to architectural structures, contrasts in the Jeta stele with the flexible body of the snake. The image of the falcon Horus, which was part of the name of the pharaohs of the zero dynasty and the Early Kingdom, was an example of calligraphic writing of the corresponding hieroglyphic sign.

In the composition, you can notice a shift of the images to the left relative to the frame of the stele and the central vertical axis. This technique is based on the rhythmic balance of the proportions of the “golden section”.

Old Kingdom Sculpture

Many sculptural monuments have been preserved from the era of the Old Kingdom, most of which had a ritual purpose. Burials and temples abound with portrait images of doubles of the dead - ka, in which the portrait art of Egypt took shape. The art of the Ancient Kingdom is especially rich in this kind of monuments. These include not only full-length sculptural images, but also “Gizech heads” - casts and sculptures of heads that did not have traditional coloring and probably served as working models for portrait images.

Statuary compositions in the Old Kingdom strictly followed a certain number of canonized types. Particularly widespread are standing figures with their left leg extended forward, sitting on a throne or kneeling. The canonical type of scribe statue was widely used. In connection with ritual purposes, the technique of complex inlay of eyes or a relief outline along the contour of the eyelids, as well as careful decorative design of statues, which, despite the canonical composition, received an individual pictorial interpretation, have long been introduced into use. These are the sculptural portraits of the architect Rahotep (son of Pharaoh Snofru) and his wife Nofret - the archaeologists themselves who carried out the excavations were shocked by the liveliness and expressiveness of these sculptures; royal scribes, nephew of Pharaoh Cheops, architect Hemiun. Ancient Egyptian artists achieved high skill in wooden sculpture (the statue of Kaaper, known as the “Village Chief”). Small figurines depicting working people are ubiquitous in tombs. Here the canon is observed less strictly, although the masters do their best to avoid imbalance in the position of the figure.

Reliefs in this era are not limited to the sphere of small forms. A narrative narrative appears in them, especially characteristic of ritual images in tombs. Gradually, a strict system of their placement develops: full-length figures of two deities or the owner of the tomb are placed at the entrance to the temple or tomb. Further along the walls of the corridors follow images of gift bearers, directed towards the middle niche with a false entrance. Above the niche of the doorway there was usually an image of the deceased in front of the altar. Such ensembles were carried out by a group of craftsmen according to a single plan, strictly corresponding to the nature of the architectural solution. The reliefs (bas-relief and relief with a deep contour) differed in the plane of execution and were usually painted. Relief compositions were complemented by painting.

Middle Kingdom sculpture

Significant changes in sculpture occurred precisely in the Middle Kingdom, which is largely explained by the presence and creative competition of many local schools that gained independence during the period of collapse. Since the time of the XII Dynasty, ritual statues have become more widely used (and, accordingly, produced 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 (ritual revival of the pharaoh's life force) still dominate. The first stage of the ritual was associated with the symbolic murder of the elderly ruler and was performed over his statue, which in composition resembled canonical images and sculptures of sarcophagi. This type includes the gray-haired statue of Mentuhotep-Nebkhepetra, depicting the pharaoh in a pointedly frozen pose with his arms crossed on his chest. The style is distinguished by a large share of conventionality and generality, generally typical for sculptural monuments of the early era. Subsequently, the sculpture comes to a more subtle modeling of faces and greater plastic dismemberment: first of all, this is manifested in female portraits and images of private individuals.

Over time, the iconography of the kings also changes. By the time of the 12th Dynasty, the idea of ​​the divine power of the pharaoh gives way in images to persistent attempts to convey human individuality. The heyday of sculpture with official themes occurred during the reign of Senwosret III, who was depicted at all ages - from childhood to adulthood. The best of these images are considered to be the obsidian head of Senusret III and sculptural portraits of his son Amenemhet III. The type of cubic statue - an image of a figure enclosed in a monolithic stone block - can be considered an original find by masters of local schools.

The art of the Middle Kingdom is the era of the heyday of the plastic arts of small forms, mostly still associated with the funeral cult and its rituals (sailing on a boat, bringing sacrificial gifts, etc.). The figurines were carved from wood, covered with primer and painted. Entire multi-figure compositions were often created in round sculpture (similar to how it was customary in the reliefs of the Old Kingdom).

New Kingdom Sculpture

The art of the New Kingdom is distinguished by the significant development of monumental sculpture, the purpose of which now often extends beyond the sphere of funerary cult. In Theban sculpture of the New Kingdom, features appear that were not previously characteristic of not only official, but also secular art. Individuality distinguishes portrait images of Hatshepsut.

In the art of the New Kingdom, sculptural group portraits appear, especially images of a married couple.

The art of relief acquires new qualities. This artistic field is noticeably influenced by certain genres of literature that became widespread during the New Kingdom: hymns, war chronicles, love lyrics. Often texts in these genres are combined with relief compositions in temples and tombs. In the reliefs of Theban temples there is an increase in decorativeness, free variation of bas-relief and high-relief techniques in combination with colorful paintings. This is the portrait of Amehotep III from the tomb of Khaemkhet, which combines different heights of relief and in this respect is an innovative work. The reliefs are still arranged according to registers, allowing the creation of narrative cycles of enormous spatial extent.

Amarna period

The art of the Amarna period is distinguished by 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 reflected even in the colossi of Amenhotep IV, installed in the Temple of 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 representation of the pharaoh’s appearance, down to the characteristic features of the body structure. The criterion of verisimilitude was a kind of protest against the previous official art, therefore the word “maat” - truth - is filled with a special meaning. Images of Akhenaten are an interesting example of a combination of authenticity with the requirement for extreme generalization and normativity characteristic of Egyptian art. The shape of the pharaoh's head, the unusually elongated oval of the face, thin hands and a narrow chin - all these features were carefully preserved and reflected in the new tradition, but at the same time all the artistic techniques were fixed on special samples - sculptural models.

The characteristic techniques of depicting the pharaoh were extended to members of his family. A frank innovation was the depiction of figures entirely in profile, which was previously not allowed by the Egyptian canon. What was also new was the fact that ethnic features were preserved in the portrait: such is the head of the pharaoh’s mother, Queen Tia, inlaid with gold and glassy paste. The intimate lyrical principle is manifested in the Amarna reliefs, full of natural plasticity and not containing canonical frontal images.

The works of the sculptors of Thutmes’ workshop are rightly considered the culmination of the development of fine art. These include the well-known polychrome head of Queen Nefertiti in a blue tiara. Along with the completed works, many plaster masks that served as models were also found in the excavations of sculpture workshops.

Late Kingdom sculpture

During the time of Kush, in the field of sculpture, the skills of ancient high craftsmanship partly fade away - for example, portrait images on funeral masks and statues are often replaced by conditionally idealized ones. At the same time, the technical skill of sculptors is improving, manifesting itself mainly in the decorative field. One of the best portrait works is the head of the statue of Mentuemhet, made in a realistic and authentic manner.

During the period of Sais's reign, staticity, conventional outlines of faces, canonical poses, and even the semblance of an “archaic smile”, characteristic of the art of the Early and Old Kingdoms, again became relevant in sculpture. However, the masters of Sais interpret these techniques only as a theme for stylization. At the same time, Sais art produces many wonderful portraits. In some of them, deliberately archaic forms imitating ancient rules are combined with rather bold deviations from the canon. Thus, in the statue of the close associate of Pharaoh Psametikh I, the canon of a symmetrical image of a seated figure is observed, but, in violation of it, the left leg of the seated person is placed vertically. In the same way, canonically static body shapes and the modern style of depicting faces are freely combined.

In the few monuments from the era of Persian rule, purely Egyptian stylistic features also predominate. Even the Persian king Darius is depicted on the relief in the garb of an Egyptian warrior with sacrificial gifts, and his name is written in hieroglyphs.

The majority of sculptures of the Ptolemaic period are also made in the traditions of the Egyptian canon. However, Hellenistic culture influenced the nature of the interpretation of the face, introducing greater plasticity, softness and lyricism.

Art in Egyptian lands began to take shape thousands of years ago. Already in the era of the Old Kingdom, Egypt developed its own original style in architecture, sculpture and painting. He became a role model for subsequent generations of Egyptians.

Ancient Egypt: architecture, sculpture and painting

Religious buildings were built of stone and were distinguished by strict, large-scale geometric shapes. At first, the Egyptians built a simple form of tomb - a mastaba. Later, step pyramids appeared, which made up huge burial complexes for pharaohs and nobles. Egyptian architects built temples equipped with columns in the shape of a lotus flower or papyrus.
Sculpture and painting were an integral part. Statues and monuments fit organically into the design of tombs and temples. Massive statues of gods and kings showed the power and might of the country. Reliefs and paintings decorated tombs and palaces. They colorfully depicted human activities, scenes of everyday life, or gods and their deeds.

Sculpture and painting of Ancient Egypt

Painting, like sculpture, served to decorate the walls of tombs and religious buildings. was distinguished by its monumentality, reaching colossal sizes. Ancient artists created scenes that included people, animals and deities. Painting and sculpture perfectly complemented the architectural masterpieces of the ancient Egyptians, extolling religion and the cult power of the state.

Canons of painting in Ancient Egypt

Bright, saturated colors predominated in Egyptian paintings. Primary colors are white, red, black, blue, green and yellow. The colors retained their brightness for a long time; in addition, the drawings were covered with a layer of resin on top.
Ancient Egyptian painting obeyed certain canons that were never violated. Thus, it was customary to depict the face of a drawn person in profile, and other parts of the body in full face. The figures of people were outlined with a clear outline. It was red

Depicted as a man with the head of a black jackal. He was depicted as a man with the head of a falcon and symbols of power in his hands. They depicted him as a freak - a dwarf with crooked legs, a wide bearded face, dressed in a lion's skin. Depicted as a man with the head of a frog or a blue man.

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Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution

higher professional education

"Tomsk State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering"

Department of Theory and History of Architecture

Essay

on history on the topic:

Ancient Egyptian canon in the depiction of gods and humans.

Tomsk

2014

Introductions 3

Canon in the image of a person 5

Predynastic period and early kingdom 5

Ancient kingdoms (3200 - 2400 BC) 6

Middle Kingdom (21st century early 19th century BC) 9

New Kingdom (16th - 15th centuries BC) 11

Canon in the depiction of gods 14

Zoomorphic deities. 14

Anthropomorphic deities 19

Conclusion 24

References 25

Introduction

Ancient Egypt is one of the greatest civilizations of the past. The study of the heritage of this amazing country began about three hundred years ago. Since then, a whole direction in science has appeared: “Egyptology”. But Egyptian history still holds many secrets.

The population itself called their country kmt (Kemet) or Ta-kemet, in Russian this means “black land”, in honor of the fertile black land so valued by the Egyptians.

Ancient Egypt was located in the Nile River valley up to the first cataract and in the Nile Delta, formed by several channels flowing into the Mediterranean Sea. At the first stages of its development, the country found itself isolated. Hot sands limited the valley from the Red Sea, a swampy delta prevented access to the Mediterranean, and impassable rapids separated it from the South. This isolation, to some extent, contributed to the original and unique development of Egyptian culture.

The only source of moisture for local residents was the Nile. The agricultural cycle was completely dependent on the river's flood. This situation became the impetus for the creation and development of the irrigation system, and the alluvial silt served as excellent fertilizer and did not allow the soil to deplete.

The Nile Valley had a rich natural and plant world. On lands irrigated by irrigation, barley and spelt, flax and sesame were grown. Lotus and papyrus grew in the pools. The valley produced dates and coconuts in abundance, and acacia trees became the main building material. Residents cultivated vineyards and extensive orchards.

In the Nile, fish was found in large quantities, which became the basis of the diet, and the coastal thickets abounded in a variety of birds. The grassy valley made it possible for cattle breeding to develop. The desert was inhabited by lions, cheetahs, ostriches, snakes, jackals, many of which were revered as deities.

The surrounding areas had rich deposits of all the necessary minerals: granite, basalt, alabaster, limestone, slate, copper ore deposits.

The ancient Egyptians were short, had a strong build, and kept their hair short and their beards shaved. The face is slightly elongated, with high cheekbones and full lips. The hot climate made it possible to get by with a minimum of clothing. Ordinary workers made do with one apron. The nobility wore a knee-length skirt and a short-sleeved shirt; women preferred long dresses with one or two straps.

The inhabitants of this unique country considered earthly life to be only a stage on the path to eternal life in the afterlife. Colossal pyramids reaching into the sky, a pompous and detailed burial ritual, a huge amount of funeral equipment - all this speaks of a quick resurrection and a further happy life.

The artist’s task was not to capture a moment of life, but, on the contrary, to create and revive an image, to introduce magical meaning into it. The sacred image served as a bridge between worlds, helping to go through the difficult path of rebirth.

It was here and nowhere else that such a unique and original culture could arise. It was here that unique canons of fine art were formed, preserving their distinctive features throughout the history of Egypt.

Canon in the image of a person

Ancient papyrus texts and inscriptions on walls contain references to special treatises that contained rules for the construction of temples and the creation of works of art. According to legend, the greatest masters received these treatises from the gods themselves and passed them on from generation to generation. Thus, the canons were not just rules, but a kind of set of laws given by the gods. Violating them is like sacrilege. However, none of these vaults have yet been found.

Predynastic period and early kingdom

The first images of people in paintings on ceramics and primitive figurines convey only general human features, highlighting only essential features. However, already at the initial stage it is possible to trace the foundations of the origin of the canons. So, even in the most ancient paintings, the artist rotates different parts of the body, but the feet are invariably depicted in profile.

Such images were painted not from life, but from memory; the main task was not realism, but the conveyance of the plot: the movement of the arms in a swing, the legs in running or dancing.

Over time, art in Egypt is increasingly of a cult-official nature, which leads to the emergence of more rigid canons.

The slab of Pharaoh Narmer is the first monument in which the established rules are already clearly visible. As before, the image of body parts is shown from different points of view, the social status of the drawn figures is shown through the difference in size, so the pharaoh is twice as tall as the nobles and three times as tall as ordinary warriors. A new trend here is a more correct outline of proportions, drawing of details muscles are visible, social status is additionally highlighted with the help of clothing and attributes of power, such as a crown.

However, departing from the canon, two people are drawn holding mystical beasts on a leash. It is characteristic that common people are depicted, deviating from the rules; here and further in the history of Egyptian art, this is only possible when depicting people of the lower class, while kings and nobles were depicted strictly observing the canon.

Ancient Kingdoms (3200 - 2400 BC)

Sculpture.

A special layer of sculptural art is represented by funeral statues of kings and nobility.

Despite the clear portrait resemblance, they are all made in a single stylistic solution. Basic poses:

• standing,
• Sitting on a cube-shaped throne
• Blue on the ground with her legs tucked and crossed.

The head is always positioned straight, the gaze is directed to the horizon. The standing figures seem to take a step forward with their left foot, their arms are tense and positioned strictly along the body. The seated statues have their hands on their knees.

In general, all the statues are of the same type and repeat the same poses. The coloring also does not differ much. The men are colored red-brown, the women yellow, all have white robes and black hair. The material for making sculptures was limestone or wood.

An important feature of Egyptian art is geometricity. In this aspect, it is interesting to consider the statues of scribes. The composition of these sculptures makes it possible to fit them into a triangle similar to the triangle of the pyramids.

The figurines of servants and slaves, who were supposed to serve the master in the afterlife, were executed in a completely different way. Here we can observe a great diversity: these are agricultural workers, cooks, porters, rowers. Their images were made without the use of strict canons and gave Egyptian masters room for creativity. Stone and wood were also used to make these figurines, but they were much more colorful than the pompous nobles.

Reliefs and paintings

Already in the era of the ancient kingdom, the basic rules for painting paintings and reliefs were formed. The foundations for compositional solutions for walls as a whole, episodes and groups were formed. In ancient Egypt, both relief techniques were already known, the usual bas-relief, when the figure protrudes above the background, and the special high-relief, unique only to this region, in which the figures are cut inward, while the background surface remains untouched.

Two types of painting were also developed:

1. Tempera on a dry surface,
2. With a specially made paste, in this case, pre-made indentations were filled with paste.

Egyptian craftsmen used natural paints made from minerals. The main content of reliefs and paintings in the mortuary temples of kings and tombs of nobles was the glorification of his deeds and images for bliss.

The artist measured the proportions of the drawing using a grid. An example of such a pattern was found on a piece of limestone pita. It depicts hieroglyphs and profile images of men.

The central place in reliefs and paintings everywhere is occupied by the figure of a king or nobleman; their images are distinguished by the following features:

• The main figure is much larger than all the others;
• Absolutely calm and motionless, unlike other characters in the plot;
• There is certainly an attribute of power in the hands - a rod.

Otherwise, the canons that were characteristic of the Narmer slab, created in the era of the early kingdom, are preserved.

In a more free form, like the sculptural images, ordinary residents are shown. Here artists already have room to expand. Many plot images of agricultural work, fishing, songs and dances of musicians have been preserved.

Along with some freedom, certain principles of work were still preserved. This way, the schematic structure of the composition is preserved, and we can guess the type of activity of the person depicted only by certain attributes in the hands and turns of the head and hands.

The convention and constancy of the techniques was supported by the belief in the magical power of images; it was believed that they could influence the real world, and therefore, enemies were certainly depicted defeated, and animals were pierced with spears and arrows.

Middle Kingdom (21st century - early 19th century BC)

Sculpture.

The funeral statues of the pharaohs of the beginning of the middle kingdom were made in imitation of the canons that had developed in the previous era. The same frozen pose and monumentality of the figure try to continue the created image of the god and king. But the image is already less personified and is only a pathetic shadow of its former greatness. In these images, the correct proportions of the body are violated, the figures become either too squat or elongated. During the period of collapse, images of pharaohs completely disappear from paintings and reliefs.

By the time of the reign XII dynasty, the interpretation of the pharaoh's sculptures changes. The human principle comes to the fore, pushing aside the divinity of its origin. New style techniques appear:

• Volumetric surface modeling,
• Enhanced facial detail
• Use of chiaroscuro space.

The kings of this era no longer had such powerful despotic power as in the ancient kingdom. Hence the shift in the image towards the human. The harmonious peace of the divine in expression and face disappears and more and more individual features appear.

With the weakening of tsarist power, local new art schools emerged. The nomarchs sought to imitate the royal tombs, and at the same time modified the canons. It was on the outskirts that a new type of funeral statues appeared - figures enclosed in a stone block - the so-called cube-shaped composition.

Relief and painting

The painting technique has been preserved from previous eras. The master made a preliminary sketch, which he then transferred to the wall, maintaining the scale using a grid of squares. However, drawing techniques become more complicated

• The background is tonally associated with the composition,
• The outline becomes thinner or completely absent,
• The drawing becomes more detailed and thinner.

With the help of an admixture of white and mixing paints, the color palette is significantly expanded. Appears soft blue, light green, yellow.

When painting human figures, artists adhere to the traditional manner. The intersection of figures creates the impression of a multifaceted image.

The canons in the depiction of the nobility are changing. If earlier the nomarchs imitated the monumentality of the pharaohs, now their figures become more dynamic, they do not stand in a fixed pose, but take an active part in the development of the plot.

New Kingdom (16th - 15th centuries BC)

Sculpture

During this era, the construction of monumental temples began, which entailed the development of sculptural skill. The sculpture goes beyond the mortuary cult; now the statues are installed in open courtyards and, by their structure, are designed to be perceived from afar. During the period of the new kingdom, the formation of two main directions ended: official art at the court of the king and private art in the regions.

Development continues in the official direction

canonical image. The portraiture of the image is enhanced, but the conventionality of the image is still preserved. Private portraits of nobles are more realistic, facial expressions are more detailed.

Changes in monumental sculpture occur during the reign of Amenhotep IV . These changes are connected with the fact that the image of the king ceases to be deified. Following the previous canons is maintained in the pose. Along with the portrait image of the face, the body of the pharaoh begins to be depicted in more detail and realistically.

Starting with the sculpture of Amenhotep IV , a new canon in the depiction of pharaohs is approved. Characteristic facial features stand out:

• Elongated skull;
• Heavy lower jaw;
• Narrow eyes, set obliquely to the bridge of the nose;

Half-closed heavy eyelids give a melancholic expression to the face.

The main features when depicting the body are:

• Excessively long neck
• rounded hips,
• Protruding round belly
• Thin arms and legs.

Sculpture of small forms is actively developing. Unlike previous periods, they are becoming more sophisticated. The shoulders and hips become narrower, the shape is more rounded, the torso is elongated, and the figure becomes slender and graceful.

Relief and painting

The reliefs of the tombs in Thebes are more picturesque, the figures become softer and more plastic. New compositional solutions are emerging. If earlier a clear rhythm was more common, now the figures intersect freely in the dance, and a wide variety of poses appears.

During the period of Amenhotep IV The image of the king changes. In general, it corresponds to the new sculptural canons. If previously the pharaoh was depicted only as a frozen central figure in a strict pose, now the pharaoh is often in motion. In addition, he is often depicted in family circles, with his wife and children.

Canon in the depiction of gods

The heyday of the religious and priestly cult occurred in the eras of the Middle and New Kingdoms; it was then that grandiose temples were built, decorated with numerous statues, paintings and reliefs with images of gods. Initially, the cult capital was in Memphis, but was later moved to Thebes (modern Luxor), where tombs and temples began to be carved directly into rock formations. Grandiose temples and temple complexes were built to worship the gods of the Egyptian pantheon.

Conventionally, images of deities can be divided into anthropomorphic and zoomorphic. There are some deities that stand apart, having only a symbol, but not having a direct incarnation.

Zoomorphic deities.

Aker.

Patron of the dead, guardian of the gates to the other world, protector of people and assistant to Ra in the fight against Apep. Two lions or sphinxes looking in different directions to the east and west, between them are the signs of the sun and the horizon.

Anubis

Son of Osiris and Nephthys, brother of the god Bata, father of Kebkhut. God is the patron of death, the protector of the dead and their necropolises. One of the judges of the kingdom of the dead, creator of poisons and medicines. Depicted as a man with the head of a black jackal. His attributes are a rod, an ankh and a palm leaf.

Apep

The personification of evil and everything negative, the eternal enemy of the god Ra, who fights with him in the underworld every night. Depicted as a huge snake. Many images of scenes of the fight between Apophis and Ra have been preserved.

Ash

Local deity, patron of the Arabian desert. He was depicted as a man with the head of a falcon and symbols of power in his hands.

Basted

The female deity of love, beauty and home, as well as joy. Daughter of Ra and Hathor, wife of Bes, mother of Maahes. Depicted with the head of a cat or lioness.

Demon

In ancient Egypt, he was worshiped by commoners. God of dances and feasts. They depicted him as a freak - a dwarf with crooked legs, a wide bearded face, dressed in a lion's skin. He was considered the patron and protector of the family, so his statues were in almost every home.

Montu

God of War. Depicted with the head of a falcon, crowned with a crown with a solar disk and two feathers.

Nun

God-demiurge, identified with the water element, member of the Hermopolis nine. Depicted as a man with the head of a frog or a blue man.

Ra

Sun god, creator of all gods and people. In the era of the Middle Kingdom, it was believed that the royal family descended directly from him. He was depicted with the head of a falcon crowned with a solar disk, which is wrapped around a snake.

Renenet

The goddess is the patroness of children. She gave children names, protected them from misfortunes and predetermined their destinies. She was depicted as a snake with a woman's face.

Sebek

God of fresh waters: rivers and lakes, and the fertility associated with them in Egypt. depicted in the guise of a crocodile or a man with the head of a crocodile, on his head are goat horns with a sun disk and two feathers. A large number of crocodiles in the river was a symbol of a fertile harvest. However, Sebek was considered a cruel god in order to be appeased by the necessary abundant sacrifices.

Selket (Serket)

The goddess, patroness of the dead, is depicted up to the torso in the form of a man, below the body of a scorpion, or in the form of a woman with a scorpion on her head. She helped her father, the god Ra, destroy his enemies. She was supportive of people and helped warriors heal their wounds.

Set

Lord of the storms and lord of the desert. He wanted to seize power, but the other gods did not allow this. Set is depicted with the head of an aardvark, with long ears, red eyes and a mane.

Maat

The daughter of Ra, the goddess of truth and justice, sets the standards of ethics. Ma'at ensures that people behave correctly in their relationships with each other and with the gods. She was depicted winged or with an ostrich feather on her head.

Meritseger

Local goddess of Thebes. She helped the righteous, and punished sinners with her poisonous bite. Depicted as a snake with the head of a woman or a woman with the head of a snake.

Sekhmet

Goddess of the burning sun and war. Patron of medicine and magic. wife of Ptah, mother of Nefertum. Protector of the pharaohs. She was depicted as a woman with the head of a lioness. The head was crowned with a crown of a solar disk entwined with a snake.

Tefnut

Goddess of moisture, dew, rain and fertility. She is the first creation of the god Ra. She was depicted as a woman with the head of a cat, on her head a solar disk with a snake. Initial images with green skin.

That

Lunar deity, lord of wisdom and magic, patron of eloquence, according to legend, it was he who invented writing. Depicted with the head of an ibis and a scribe's palette. Helps Osiris administer justice in the afterlife, records the readings of the scales on which the soul of the deceased was weighed.

Khnum

He created people on the potter's wheel, the patron of pottery. Khnum's wife, Heget, breathed life into people's bodies. According to some myths, he also created the gods. He is depicted with the head of a ram.

Chorus (Horus)

Son of Osiris and Isis. The god of the sky and sun in the early period of the history of Ancient Egypt, the pharaoh was considered the earthly incarnation of the god Horus. He was depicted with the head of a falcon with a high crown on his head.

Anthropomorphic deities

Amon - Ra

In Thebes (Upper Egypt), Amon was the local god of the wind. After the unification of Egypt, the cult of Amun gradually gained strength and merged with the cult of Ra. After which Amon-Ra became the supreme god of Egypt. Depicted as a man. The head is crowned with a crown with two golden feathers or a solar disk.

Anuket

Patroness of the first cataract of the Nile and its floods. Depicted as a woman with a papyrus tiara on her head.

Atum

The god of the setting sun is considered the progenitor of the Hermopolis eight. Depicted as an elderly man in the clothes of a pharaoh and a double crown, as a symbol of upper and lower Egypt.

Geb

One of the nine gods of Hermopolis, patron of the earth. He was depicted as an old man with a beard in the crown of a united Egypt or with a duck on his head. There are images where he is stretched out to his full length, with Nut leaning on him and Shu lifting him up.

Isis

Goddess of fate and love, protects babies and the dead, helps women during childbirth. From Osiris she gave birth to a son, Horus. Often depicted with little Horus in his arms. On the head is a dress in the form of a throne.

Meskhent

She meets the person coming into the world, the patroness of childbirth, and helps the woman endure the pangs of birth. Depicted as a young woman wearing a headdress of multi-colored feathers.

Min

The god of male strength. During the holiday, a sacred pillar was erected in his honor, and participants in the ritual had to climb onto it. Depicted with a phallus during an erection, a whip in one hand, the other raised up, a crown with two feathers on his head.

Mut

Mother goddess, patroness of motherhood and queen of heaven. She had two sons: her own son, Khonsu, and her adopted one, Montu. She was depicted as a woman with a crown and a vulture on her head.

Nephthys

The youngest of the children of Heb and Nut, was born on the last day of the year. Goddess of death, healing, arousal and sexuality. She was depicted as a woman with her hieroglyph on her head - a house on top with a construction basket.

Nate

Goddess of handicrafts, hunting and war. According to legend, it was she who wove the world. Guards the mummy until it is buried. She is depicted wearing a crown, dressed in red, and holding a bow and arrows in her hands.

Nefertum

Is the personification of the first lotus. Depicted as a baby wearing a lotus flower or a bearded man with a curved sword in his hand and a lotus flower on his head.

Osiris

god of rebirth, king of the underworld in ancient Egyptian mythology and judges the souls of dead people. He was depicted as a wrapped mummy with a green face, his hands were free, and they contained the symbols of royal power - heket and nehehu (scepter and flail).

Ptah

God of craft and art, truth and justice. Ptah was depicted as a man with a beard in a robe that fit tightly and covered him, except for his hands holding the “was” staff. Characteristic is the blue head.

Seshat

Goddess of writing. She was considered the daughter or sister of the god of wisdom Thoth. The leopard was considered Seshat's sacred animal, so she was depicted wearing the skin of this animal, draped over her shirt. There is a seven-pointed star above his head, a writing instrument in one hand, a lantern in the other.

Hathor

Goddess of love and fertility. She was depicted either in the guise of a cow or as a woman, whose head was crowned with a solar disk between the cow's horns. One of the myths tells how Ra sent Hathor to destroy humanity, and then this goddess turned into Sekhmet, the goddess of war and destruction.

Khonsou

Son of Amon-Ra and Mut, personification of the moon. Khonsu gives the pharaoh power and strength. He is depicted in the guise of a beautiful, strong young man with a beard, his hair braided, and crowned with a crescent moon.

Aten

Not an anthropomorphic deity. One sun god, an attempt to introduce monotheism in Egypt. Depicted in the form of a sun with rays, at the ends of the rays there are palms and the ankh sign.

Conclusion

Egyptian art was created by one of the oldest civilized peoples. It was the most developed among the peoples of the ancient east. Compared to primitive art, a great step forward was made. For the first time, a realistic image of a person appeared. A unique way of visual storytelling was invented.

The most characteristic feature of Egyptian art: long-term adherence to the patterns accepted in antiquity. This is due to the fact that art had a sacred character. The painted images were considered living embodiments of gods and people.

However, one should not assume that Egyptian art was completely constrained by canons and did not develop in any way. Development took place both within the canon and outside it. A certain freedom of creativity was allowed in the depiction of commoners and lower gods.

The development of the canon mostly occurred in spurts, and again was associated with changes in the cult according to the personal will of the pharaoh.

Drawings of Ancient Egypt like the eternal Egyptian pyramids, have clear and strict lines, personifying the inviolability and cosmic eternity of the universe. Even the small figurines of Egyptian maids have an elegantly strict contour line with a hint of monumentality.

Each cultural period creates its own art, which cannot be repeated unambiguously, but can be transformed in the cultural space of time

Bibliography

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2. Koltypin A.V. “Gods and demons of ancient Egypt and Sumer.” M.: 2014.
3. Krostovtsev M. “Religion of Ancient Egypt.” M.: 1976.
4. Mathieu M. E. “The Art of Ancient Egypt.” M.: 1970.
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6. Pomerantseva N. “Thinking about the ancient Egyptian canon” // Urania No. 1 1997.
7. Hagen R. “The Art of Ancient Egypt.” M.: 2009.

The tombs of the pharaohs, temple premises, and royal palaces were filled with various sculptures that formed an organic part of the buildings.

The masters felt more free when they portrayed nobles and especially commoners. Here the constraining influence of the canon is overcome, the image is developed more boldly and realistically, and its psychological characteristics are more fully conveyed. The art of individual portraiture, deep realism, and a sense of movement reached their peak during the New Kingdom, especially during the brief reign of Akhenaten (Amarna period). The sculptural images of the pharaoh himself, his wife Nefertiti, and members of his family are distinguished by their skillful conveyance of the inner world, deep psychologism, and high artistic skill.

In addition to round sculpture, the Egyptians willingly turned to relief. Many walls of tombs and temples, various buildings are covered with magnificent relief compositions, most often depicting nobles with their families, in front of the altar of the deity, among their fields, etc.

A certain canon was also developed in relief paintings: the main “hero” was depicted larger than others, his figure was depicted in a double plan: the head and legs in profile, the shoulders and chest in front. All figures were usually painted.

Along with reliefs, the walls of the tombs were covered with contour or pictorial paintings, the content of which was more varied than the reliefs. Quite often, these paintings depicted scenes of everyday life: artisans at work in the workshop, fishermen fishing, peasants plowing, street vendors with their goods, court proceedings, etc. The Egyptians achieved great skill in depicting wildlife - landscapes, animals, birds , where the restraining influence of ancient traditions was felt much less. A striking example is the painting of the tombs of the nomarchs discovered in Beni Hasan and dating back to the Middle Kingdom.

All ancient Egyptian art was subject to cult canons. Relief and sculpture were no exception here. The masters left outstanding sculptural monuments to their descendants: statues of gods and people, figures of animals.

The man was sculpted in a static but majestic pose, standing or sitting. In this case, the left leg was pushed forward, and the arms were either folded on the chest or pressed to the body.

Some sculptors were required to create figures of working people. At the same time, there was a strict canon for depicting a specific occupation - the choice of a moment characteristic of this particular type of work.

Among the ancient Egyptians, statues could not exist separately from religious buildings. They were first used to decorate the retinue of the deceased pharaoh and were placed in the tomb located in the pyramid. These were relatively small figures. When kings began to be buried near temples, the roads to these places were lined with many huge statues. They were so big that no one paid attention to the details of the image. The statues were placed near pylons, in courtyards and already had artistic significance.

During the Old Kingdom, the round form was established in Egyptian sculpture, and the main types of composition emerged. For example, the statue of Mikerinus depicts a standing man with his left leg extended and his arms pressed to his body. Or the statue of Rahotep and his wife Nofret represents a seated figure with his hands placed on his knees.

The Egyptians thought of the statue as the “body” of spirits and people. According to information from Egyptian texts, the god descended from the temple dedicated to him and was reunited with his sculptural image. And the Egyptians revered not the statue itself, but the embodiment of the invisible god in it.

Some statues were placed in temples in memory of “participation” in a certain ritual. Others were donated to temples in order to ensure the permanent patronage of the deity for the person depicted. Associated with prayers and appeals to the dead for the gift of offspring is the custom of bringing female figurines to the tombs of ancestors, often with a child in their arms or nearby (ill. 49). Small figurines of deities, usually reproducing the appearance of the main cult statue of the temple, were presented by believers with prayers for well-being and health. Images of women and ancestors were an amulet that promoted the birth of children, because it was believed that the spirits of ancestors could inhabit women of the clan and be reborn again.

The statues were also created for ka deceased. Because ka it was necessary to “recognize” exactly its own body and enter it, and the statue itself “replaced” the body, each face of the statue was endowed with a certain unique individuality (with the commonality of indisputable rules of composition). Thus, already in the era of the Old Kingdom, one of the achievements of ancient Egyptian art appeared - a sculptural portrait. This was facilitated by the practice of covering the faces of the dead with a layer of plaster - the creation of death masks.

Already in the era of the Old Kingdom, a narrow, closed room was built in the mastabas next to the prayer house ( serdab), in which a statue of the deceased was placed. At eye level of the statue there was a small window so that the one living in the statue ka the deceased could take part in funeral rites. It is believed that these statues served to preserve the earthly form of the deceased, as well as in case of loss or death of the mummy.

The spirit of the deceased endowed the statues with vitality, after which they “came to life” for eternal life. For this reason, we never see images of people, for example, in a pre-mortem or post-mortem form; on the contrary, there is exceptional vitality. The statues were made life-size, and the deceased was depicted exclusively as a young man.

In statues and reliefs, a person was always depicted as sighted, since the symbolism of the deceased’s “sighting” and his acquisition of vitality was associated with the eye. Moreover, the sculptor made the figures’ eyes especially large. They were always inlaid with colored stones, blue beads, faience, and rock crystal (ill. 50). For the eye for the Egyptians is the seat of the spirit and has a powerful influence on the living and on spirits

Since the life-giving power of the lotus, symbolizing magical revival, was “inhaled” through the nostrils, the human nose was usually depicted with an emphasized cut of the nostrils.

Since the lips of the mummy were endowed with the ability to pronounce the words of the afterlife confession, the lips themselves were never abstracted into a schematized sign.

In the creation of the type of sitting statues (with hands placed on their knees), statues of pharaohs made for the holiday played a large role heb-sed. His goal was the “revival” of an elderly or sick ruler, for there was a belief from the earliest times that the fertility of the earth was determined by the physical condition of the king. During the ritual, a statue of the ritually “killed” pharaoh was erected, and the ruler himself, “rejuvenated” again, performed a ritual beᴦ in front of the tent. Then the statue was buried and the coronation ceremony was repeated. After which it was believed that the ruler, full of strength, was again sitting on the throne.

Statues of the same person placed in tombs could be of different types, because they reflected various aspects of the funeral cult˸ one type conveyed the individual features of a person, without a wig, in fashionable clothes, the other had a more generalized interpretation of the face, was in an official apron and a fluffy wig.

The desire to ensure the “eternal” performance of the funeral cult led to the fact that statues of priests began to appear in tombs. The presence of figurines of children is also natural, since their indispensable duty was to take care of the funeral cult of their parents.

First hurt(they were discussed in question No. 2) date back to the 21st century. BC. If it was not possible to achieve a portrait resemblance between the ushabti and the deceased, the name and title of the owner whom it replaced was written on each figurine. Tools and bags were placed in the hands of the ushabti, and they were painted on their backs. Statues of scribes, overseers, and boatmen appear (ill. 51-a). For ushabti, baskets, hoes, hammers, jugs, etc. were made from faience or bronze. The number of ushabti in one tomb could reach several hundred. There were those who bought 360 pieces - one person for each day of the year. The poor bought one or two ushabtis, but along with them they put a list of three hundred and sixty such “helpers” in the coffin.

During some rituals, sculptures of bound prisoners were used. Οʜᴎ probably replaced living prisoners during the corresponding rituals (say, killing defeated enemies).

The Egyptians believed that the constant presence of sculptural images of participants in a religious ritual in the temple seemed to ensure the eternal performance of this ritual. For example, part of the sculptural group has been preserved, where the gods Horus and Thoth put a crown on the head of Ramesses III - this is how the coronation rite was reproduced, in which the roles of the gods were played by priests in appropriate masks. Its installation in the temple was supposed to contribute to the long reign of the king.

Found in tombs wooden the statues are associated with the funeral ritual (the repeated raising and lowering of the statue of the deceased as a symbol of the victory of Osiris over Set).

Statues of pharaohs were placed in sanctuaries and temples in order to place the pharaoh under the protection of the deity and at the same time glorify the ruler.

The giant colossal statues of the pharaohs embodied the most sacred aspect of the essence of the kings - their ka.

In the era of the Old Kingdom, canonical figures of the pharaoh appear standing with his left leg extended forward, in a short girdle and crown, sitting with a royal scarf on his head (ill. 53, 53-a), kneeling, with two vessels in his hands (ill. 54) , in the form of a sphinx, with the gods, with the queen (ill. 55).

In the eyes of ancient Eastern people, the physical and mental health of the king was understood as a condition for the successful fulfillment of his function as a mediator between the world of people and the world of gods. Since the pharaoh for the Egyptians acted as the guarantee and embodiment of the “collective” well-being and prosperity of the country, he not only could not have flaws (which could also cause disasters), but also surpass mere mortals in physical strength. With the exception of the brief Amarna period, pharaohs have always been depicted as endowed with enormous physical strength.

The main requirement for the sculptor is to create the image of the pharaoh as the son of god. This determined the choice of artistic means. Despite the constant portraiture, there was a clear idealization of the appearance, developed muscles and a gaze directed into the distance were invariably present. The divinity of the pharaoh was complemented by details, for example, Khafre is guarded by a falcon, the sacred bird of the god Horus

The Amarna period was marked by a completely new approach to conveying the image of a person in sculpture and relief. The desire of the pharaoh to be different from the images of his predecessors - gods or kings - resulted in the fact that in the sculpture he appeared, it is believed, without any embellishment on a skinny, folded neck - an elongated face, with drooping half-open lips, a long nose, half-closed eyes, puffy belly, thin ankles with full hips

Statues of private individuals.

The Egyptians have always imitated official sculpture - images of pharaohs and gods, strong, strict, calm and majestic. The sculptures never express anger, surprise, or smile. The spread of statues of private individuals was facilitated by the fact that nobles began to build their own tombs.

The statues were of different sizes - from several meters to very small figures of several centimeters.

Sculptors, sculpting private individuals, were also obliged to adhere to the canon, primarily frontality and symmetry in the construction of the figure (ill. 60, 61). All statues have the same straight head, and almost the same attributes in their hands.

During the era of the Old Kingdom, sculptural statues of married couples with children appeared (ill. 62, 63), scribes sitting cross-legged, with an unrolled papyrus scroll on their knees - at first only royal sons were depicted this way

Temple of Horus in Edfu

Material and processing.

Already in the Old Kingdom there were sculptures made of red and black granite, diorite, quartzite (ill. 68), alabaster, slate, limestone, and sandstone. The Egyptians loved hard rocks.

Images of gods, pharaohs, and nobles were made mainly of stone (granite, limestone, quartzite). It is worth saying that for small figurines of people and animals, bone and faience were most often used. Servant statues were made of wood. Ushabti were made of wood, stone, glazed faience, bronze, clay, and wax. Only two ancient Egyptian copper sculptures are known.

Inlaid eyes with contoured relief rims of the eyelids are characteristic of statues made of limestone, metal or wood.

The limestone and wood sculptures were originally painted.

Late Egyptian sculptors began to prefer granite and basalt to limestone and sandstone. But bronze became the favorite material. Images of gods and figurines of animals dedicated to them were made from it. Some were made up of separately manufactured parts; the cheap ones were cast in clay or plaster molds. Most of these figurines were made using the “lost wax” technique, widespread in Egypt; the sculptor made a blank of the future image from clay, covered it with a layer of wax, worked out the intended shape, coated it with clay and put it in the oven. The wax flowed out through a specially left hole, and liquid metal was poured into the resulting void. When the bronze cooled, the clay mold was broken and the product was removed, and its surface was carefully processed and then polished. For each product, its own form was created and the product turned out to be unique.

Bronze items were usually decorated with engraving and inlays. For the latter, thin gold and silver wires were used. Gold stripes were used to outline the eyes of the ibis, and necklaces made of gold threads were placed on the necks of bronze cats.

The famous ancient Egyptian colossal statues are of interest from the point of view of the complexity of processing hard materials.

On the west bank of the Nile, opposite Luxor, there are two statues dating from the New Kingdom, called the “colossi of Memnon”. According to one version of Egyptologists, the Greek name Memnom comes from one of the names of Amenhotep III. According to another version, after the earthquake on 27 ᴦ. BC. one of the statues was significantly damaged, and, probably due to differences in night and day temperatures, the cracked stone began to make continuous sounds. This began to attract pilgrims who believed that in this way the Ethiopian king Memnon, a character in Homer’s Iliad, greeted the goddess of the dawn Eos, his mother.

At the same time, there are no intelligible explanations of how colossi made of quartzite, 20-21 meters high, each weighing 750 tons, were placed on a pedestal also made of quartzite weighing 500 tons manually, can not found. Moreover, it was still necessary to deliver stone monoliths (or parts thereof?) 960 kilometers away up along the Nile.

Sculpture from the Early Dynastic period comes mainly from three large centers where the temples were located - Ona, Abydos and Koptos. The statues served as objects of worship, rituals and had a dedicatory purpose. A large group of monuments was associated with the “heb-sed” ritual - a ritual of renewing the physical power of the pharaoh. This type includes the types of sitting and walking figures of the king, executed in round sculpture and relief, as well as the image of his ritual running. The list of Kheb-sed monuments includes a statue of Pharaoh Khasekhem, represented seated on a throne in ritual attire. This sculpture indicates an improvement in technical techniques: the figure has correct proportions and is volumetrically modeled. The main features of the style have already been identified here - monumental form, frontal composition. The pose of the statue is motionless, fitting into the rectangular block of the throne; straight lines predominate in the outlines of the figure. Khasekhem's face is portrait-like, although his features are largely idealized. The placement of the eyes in the orbit with a convex eyeball is noteworthy. 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 this same period, the canonicity of the pre-dynastic period standing at full height was established, giving way in the plastic arts of the Early Kingdom to the correct rendering of the proportions of the human body.

Old Kingdom Sculpture

Significant changes in sculpture occur precisely in the Middle Kingdom, which is largely explained by the presence and creative competition of many local schools that gained independence during the period of collapse. Since the time of the XII Dynasty, ritual statues have become more widely used (and, accordingly, produced 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 (ritual revival of the pharaoh's life force) still dominate. The first stage of the ritual was associated with the symbolic murder of the elderly ruler and was performed over his statue, which in composition resembled canonical images and sculptures of sarcophagi. This type includes the gray-haired statue of Mentuhotep-Nebkhepetra, depicting the pharaoh in a pointedly frozen pose with his arms crossed on his chest. The style is distinguished by a large share of conventionality and generality, generally typical for sculptural monuments of the early era. Subsequently, the sculpture comes to a more subtle modeling of faces and greater plastic dismemberment: first of all, this is manifested in female portraits and images of private individuals.

Over time, the iconography of the kings also changes. By the time of the 12th Dynasty, the idea of ​​the divine power of the pharaoh gives way in images to persistent attempts to convey human individuality. The heyday of sculpture with official themes occurred during the reign of Senwosret III, who was depicted at all ages - from childhood to adulthood. The best of these images are considered to be the obsidian head of Senusret III and sculpted portraits of his son Amenemhat III. The type of cubic statue - an image of a figure enclosed in a monolithic stone block - can be considered an original find by masters of local schools.

The art of the Middle Kingdom is the era of the heyday of the plastic arts of small forms, mostly still associated with the funeral cult and its rituals (sailing on a boat, bringing sacrificial gifts, etc.). The figurines were carved from wood, covered with primer and painted. Entire multi-figure compositions were often created in round sculpture (similar to how it was customary in the reliefs of the Old Kingdom

New Kingdom sculpture

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 field is noticeably influenced by certain genres of literature that became widespread during the New Kingdom: hymns, war chronicles, love lyrics. Often texts in these genres are combined with relief compositions in temples and tombs. In the reliefs of Theban temples there is an increase in decorativeness, free variation of bas-relief and high-relief techniques in combination with colorful paintings. This is the portrait of Amenhotep III from the tomb of Khaemkhet, which combines different heights of relief and in this regard is an innovative work. Reliefs are still arranged according to registers, allowing the creation of narrative cycles of enormous spatial extent

Wooden sculpture of one of the Egyptian gods with the head of a ram

Late Kingdom sculpture

During the time of Kush, in the field of sculpture, the skills of ancient high craftsmanship partly fade away - for example, portrait images on funeral masks and statues are often replaced by conditionally idealized ones. At the same time, the technical skill of sculptors is improving, manifesting itself mainly in the decorative field. One of the best portrait works is the head of the statue of Mentuemhet, made in a realistic and authentic manner.

During the period of Sais's reign, staticity, conventional outlines of faces, canonical poses, and even the semblance of an “archaic smile”, characteristic of the art of the Early and Old Kingdoms, again became relevant in sculpture. However, the masters of Sais interpret these techniques only as a theme for stylization. At the same time, Sais art produces many wonderful portraits. In some of them, deliberately archaic forms imitating ancient rules are combined with rather bold deviations from the canon. Thus, in the statue of the close associate of Pharaoh Psametikh I, the canon of a symmetrical image of a seated figure is observed, but, in violation of it, the left leg of the seated person is placed vertically. In the same way, canonically static body shapes and the modern style of depicting faces are freely combined.

In the few monuments from the era of Persian rule, purely Egyptian stylistic features also predominate. Even the Persian king Darius is depicted on the relief in the garb of an Egyptian warrior with sacrificial gifts, and his name is written in hieroglyphs.

The majority of sculptures of the Ptolemaic period are also made in the traditions of the Egyptian canon. However, Hellenistic culture influenced the nature of the interpretation of the face, introducing greater plasticity, softness and lyricism.

Ancient Egypt. Male head from the Salt collection. First half of 3 thousand BC.

Figurine of the porter Meir. Tomb of Niankhpepi. VI dynasty, reign of Peggy II (2235-2141 BC). Cairo Museum

PEASANT WITH A HOE. For excavation work, a hoe was used, which was originally wooden, then metal ones appeared, consisting of two parts: a handle and a lever.

Three bearers of sacrificial gifts. Wood, painting; height 59 cm; length 56 cm; Meir, tomb of Niankhpepi the Black; excavations by the Egyptian Antiquities Service (1894); VI dynasty, reign of Pepi I (2289-2255 BC).