Monday, 12 May 2014

Task 2: Egyptian -Art

Egyptian 3100-30 BC

Egyptian artists used to carve images into stone. They had three different ways of how to create the two dimensional artwork:

Sunk Relief - (engraved in a plane surface)



Raised relief - (it's represented in three-dimensional)


Painted
- (with organic sources, using animals, vegetables and minerals)



As one can see the body shapes they used to paint were always created with the chest emphasized in it's characteristic of the 'v' shape and the face would look more clearly on the side of the profile.
The face, eye, hands and feet are all showed from one side, this represents an unrealistic body.



This may refer to the reason why of how the state of the art is more unrealistic, contemporary artists might have been inspired by this art and developed it in cubism, and other types of styles.

In 3,000 years the Egyptian artists always used the same unrealistic body shape technique and never changed it. This is because (from what archeologists found), they found out that they used the numerous technique as to put in detail, for example the figure was 19 sqr tall, the pupil eye 1 sqr of the centre line, the feet 2 and a 1/2 long.


They applied the same grid to all images this is to make sure that the figure will fit.


The Egyptian clearly didn't want to change because they used to work with consistency and order.

Everything starts making sense if you get closer to their artistic work and start studying and linking the meaning of their symbols.

The eye of horus was one of their symbols which for them was a symbol of protection, royal power and good health. This was frequently found painted on the sailors bow of the vessel to ensure safe sea travel.
File:Eye of Horus bw.svg


Another symbol meaning, is the the eye of Ra. This is associated with the disk of the sun, with cobras coiled around the disk and white and red crowns representing the upper and lower of Egypt.



The life after death of the Egyptians had a process of burying. The picture below shows like a story telling of what happens after death.  
http://faculty.evansville.edu/rl29/art105/img/egypt_bookofdead.jpg
Burial, life after death

The body used to be preserved and artificially dehydrated and then wrapped in linen bandages, this process is called mummification.  Then they put them in a specially constructed tomb surrounded by their wealth to take to the after life.

Egyptian mummy- in Albany Museum





Pyramids were designs with exact precision and shows the exact order of how they worked this can be also noticeable in statues of their buildings.

Sphinx - (body of a lion and a human head)

They wanted their images of their body design to last forever and develop their orion and mercenary skills to only do just the same exact image of design with more form and more rigid positions. After all, all this represents their culture.


The papyrus was also known for them to write on or as a material -sandals, reed boats, mats, rope and baskets, this is a very thin paper that is made out of leaves of the 'Cyperus Papyrus' plant.

Egyptian papyrus sandals


Writing on the 'papyrus'-paper


Reference:A., J., Marshall Hill, 2004. ''Egypt in the late period (ca. 712-332 B.C.)''. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metroplitan Museum of Art, 2000- [Online] Available at: <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/lapd/hd_lapd.htm> [Accessed 12 May 2014]

Eternal Egyptology, 2011. 'Ancient Egyptian Art'. [Video Online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Nkw6rvS0y4> [Accessed 12 May 2014]

The perfect human face, 2013. 'Discovery Channel's ''Queen Nefertiti'' The most beautiful face'. [Video Online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTnkqaWW1CY> [Accessed 12 May 2014]

The Bigbang 1001, 2013. 'Ancient Egypt- The real life of an Egyptian' Documentary- History/life and death. [Video Online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2G4MhzuQps> [Accessed 12 May 2014]

electrostatic, 2010. 'The style of Ancient Egyptian Art'. [Video Online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOUjDIX37o4> [Accessed 12 May 2014]

Al-Ahram, 2007. 'Ancient Egyptian Art, Painting, Sculpture'[Online] Available at: <http://www.crystalinks.com/egyptart.html> [Accessed 12 May 2014]

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