Art of the Middle Kingdom: Pharaohs, Tombs, and Portraiture

1. Advanced Placement History of Art Dr. Schiller Egyptian Art: Pharaohs and the Afterlife PART 3

2. First Intermediate Period: ~2000 BCE - ~1600 BCE • after end of Old Kingdom came the First Intermediate Period: 2134-1785 BCE • 700 years of rivalry between upper and lower kingdoms • rule by local or regional overlords

3. Middle Kingdom: ~2000 BCE - ~1600 BCE • only 2 dynasties of note: 11th and 12th • Authority of Middle kingdom pharaohs was personal rather than institutional • By the end of 12th dynasty, Egypt invaded by Hyksos, western Asiatic people • Unsettled times reflected in art of period

4. Middle Kingdom: Rock-cut tombs • Egyptians continued to build pyramids but on a smaller scale • New forms of tombs also came into use • Most characteristic of period were the rock-cut tombs: • * Hollowed out of the cliffs at remote sites • * often fronted by a shallow columnar vestibule (porch) • * Often columns had no support function—they were carved as continuous parts of • the rock fabric • * tombs were decorated with paintings and painted reliefs, as in Old Kingdom • in this tomb— • * column shafts are fluted— • --Imhotep was the first to use • --fluting may have come from dressing • softwood trunks with the rounded • cutting edge of the adze Rock-cut tombs, Beni Hasan, Egypt, Dynasty 12, ca. 1800 BCE Stokstad plate 3-18

5. Middle Kingdom: Rock-cut tombs vestibule led into a columned hall, and then into a sacred chamber Interior hall of rock-cut tomb of Khnumhotep, Beni Hasan, Egypt, Dynasty 12, ca. 1800 BCE Stokstad plate 3-19

6. Portraiture in Middle Kingdom new type of royal portrait in 12th dynasty • Portrait of Senusret III 1825 BCE • serene assurance of Old kingdom gives way to brooding, troubled expression • Fragmentary portrait head • pessimistic expression reflecting dominant mood of the literature of the middle kingdom • different from typically impassive faces of the old kingdom, • maybe knows chaos of 2nd intermediate period and the hyksos are coming • new level of self-awareness • uncompromising realism, physical as well as psychological King Senusret III, c. 1825 BCE, Middle Kingdom, 12th dynasty. Quartzite, 16.5 cm Stokstad plate 3-21

7. Portraiture in Middle Kingdom--new type of royal portrait in 12th dynasty • Portrait of Sesostris III 1850 BCE

8. Small objects found in tombs Hippopotamus, from the tomb of Senbi, Meir, Dynasty 12, c. 1850 BCE, faience, length ~8” Stokstad plate 3-22 Pectoral of Senusret II, from the tomb of Princess Sithathoryunet, el-Lahun, Dynasty 12, c. 1890 BCE, Gold and semi-precious stones, length 3 1/4” Stokstad plate 3-23

9. Second Intermediate Period • Hyksos ruled for 150 years, then were kicked out by the Egyptians

10. New Kingdom: ~1500 BCE - 1162 BCE • Dynasties 18-20 • Country was united under these strong pharaohs • They extended the frontiers of Egypt into Palestine and Syria • Capital was at Thebes (except during reign of Akhenaten) • By this time, the divine kingship of pharaohs were now associated with the god Amun, fused with the sun-god Ra, as a supreme deity • the deity (Amun or Amun-ra) ruled the lesser gods • the priests became very powerful and wealthy and held so much power (especially at Thebes) that they could constitute a threat to a pharaoh who acted in a way they didn’t like!

11. Hatshepsut: The Woman who would be King • When Thutmose II died, his wife/sister had no living sons, so • crown went to 12-year-old Thutmose III, his son by a minor wife • Hatshepsut was named regent • But then she proclaimed herself pharaoh, declaring that her father Thutmose I had actually chosen her as his successor (one of the reliefs in her funerary complex shows this) Thutmose I Minor wife Thutmose II Hatshepsut no sons Thutmose III

12. Hatshepsut: The Woman who would be King • She was the first great female monarch whose name was recorded, and she ruled for 20 years • Many of her portraits were destroyed after her death at the order of the resentful Thutmose III • Many inscriptions refer to her as “his majesty” • In her only surviving portraits, she uniformly wears the costume of the male pharaohs: • --royal headdress • --kilt • --sometimes even false ceremonial beard

13. Hatshepsut sphinx- new kingdom Hatshepsut as Sphinx, from Deir el-Bahri, Dynasty 18, c. 1460 BCE, Red graite, hieight 5’4” Stokstad plate 3-30

14. New Kingdom Architecture: Funerary Temple of Hatshepsut, 1480 BCE Senmut, funerary temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahri, Egypt, Dynasty 18, ca. 1473-1458 Stokstad plate 3-31

15. New Kingdom Architecture: Temple of Hatshepsut, 1480 BCE • This was a funerary temple of Hatshepsut, built by Senmut right into the rocky cliffs • Senmut • * Her vizier • * The architect-engineer • * Possibly her lover! • Dedicated to Amun • Worshippers were led through 3 large courts on ascending levels • courts linked by ramps along long colonnades to the “holy of holies’ (a small chamber deep in the rock) • This long stretch of architecture forms • a kind of processional road (just like the • temple-causeway-pyramid length at Giza) • Site is a magnificent union of architecture • and nature—we’ll see this philosophy later • in the works of Frank Lloyd Wright

16. Block Statues Senmut with Princess Nefrua, from Thebes, Egypt, Dynasty XVIII, ca. 1470-1460 BCE. Granite, approx. 3’ ½” high.

17. very popular during Middle and New Kingdoms • idea that ka could find an eternal home in the cubic stone image of the deceased • radical simplification of form • here, Senmut (Hatshepsut’s chancellor and maybe lover) holds her daughter Nefrua in his “lap”: and envelopes the girl in his cloak • many inscriptions • poor Senmut—toward end of her reign she believed he had become too powerful and had him removed • Block Statues

18. New Kingdom Architecture: Immense new kingdom pylon temples • “pylon” means simple and massive gateway with sloping walls

19. New Kingdom Architecture: Immense new kingdom pylon temples New dominating feature: statuary-lined approach to a New Kingdom temple was the monumental facade of the pylon, routinely covered with reliefs glorifying Egypt's rulers Pylon Temple of Horus, Edfu, Egypt, ca. 247-37 BCE

20. New Kingdom Architecture: Immense new kingdom pylon temples • typical pylon temple is bilaterally symmetrical along a single axis • the axis runs from an approaching avenue through a colonnaded court and hall into a dimly lit sanctuary • “axial corridors” were used since the Old Kingdom, e.g. the approach to the Giza pyramids • only a chosen few were admitted to the hall • most people were only allowed as far as the open court • a mud-brick wall shut off the site from the outside world

21. Temple at Luxor, 1390 BCE • This was an imperial, not a funerary, temple • dedicated to Amun and his wife and son Luxor Temple, Pylon of Ramesses II with obelisk in the foreground, Temple of Amen-Mut-Khonsu, Luxor, Egypt, New Kingdom, Ca. 1279-1212 BCE Stokstad plate 3-31

22. Temple at Luxor, 1390 BCE • This was an imperial, not a funerary, temple • dedicated to Amun and his wife and son

23. New Kingdom Architecture: Immense new kingdom pylon temples Luxor Temple plan: 1. entrance 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

24. New Kingdom Architecture: Immense new kingdom pylon temples Luxor Temple plan: 1. entrance 2.peristyle (colonnade all the way around) courtyard 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

25. New Kingdom Architecture: Immense new kingdom pylon temples Luxor Temple plan: 1. entrance 2.peristyle (colonnade all the way around) courtyard 3. chapels of Amun, Mut and Khonsu 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

26. New Kingdom Architecture: Immense new kingdom pylon temples Luxor Temple plan: 1. entrance 2.peristyle (colonnade all the way around) courtyard 3. chapels of Amun, Mut and Khonsu 4.colonnade 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

27. New Kingdom Architecture: Immense new kingdom pylon temples Luxor Temple plan: 1. entrance 2.peristyle (colonnade all the way around) courtyard 3. chapels of Amun, Mut and Khonsu 4.colonnade 5.peristyle courtyard 6. 7. 8. 9.

28. New Kingdom Architecture: Immense new kingdom pylon temples Luxor Temple plan: 1. entrance 2.peristyle (colonnade all the way around) courtyard 3. chapels of Amun, Mut and Khonsu 4.colonnade 5.peristyle courtyard 6.hypostyle hall 7. 8. 9.

29. New Kingdom Architecture: Immense new kingdom pylon temples Luxor Temple plan: 1. entrance 2.peristyle (colonnade all the way around) courtyard 3. chapels of Amun, Mut and Khonsu 4.colonnade 5.peristyle courtyard 6.hypostyle hall 7 & 8. antechambers 9.

30. New Kingdom Architecture: Immense new kingdom pylon temples Luxor Temple plan: 1. entrance 2.peristyle (colonnade all the way around) courtyard 3. chapels of Amun, Mut and Khonsu 4.colonnade 5.peristyle courtyard 6.hypostyle hall 7 & 8. antechambers 9.Sanctuary to Amun

31. Temple at Luxor, continued • Purpose: • the temple was meant to be experienced from within, except for the monumental pylon • ordinary worshippers were confined to the courts • the columns were heavier than necessary to “crush” the beholder with their sheer massiveness • the design here was impressive, but coarse compared to earlier Egyptian architecture • Egyptians did not use cement! they depended on the weight of the huge stone blocks to keep the columns in place

32. Temple at Karnak • here and in man other hypostyle halls, the builders made the central rows of columns higher than those at the sides • the raised section was called a clerestory • openings in the clerestory permitted light to filter into the interior Reconstruction drawing of the Hypostyle Hall, Great Temple of Amun, Karnak, Dynasty 19, ca. 1100 BCE Stokstad plate 3-27

33. Temple at Karnak Flower and bud columns, Hypostyle Hall, Great Temple of Amun, Karnak, Dynasty 19, ca. 1294-1212 BCE Stokstad plate 3-28

34. Temple of Ramesses II, Abu Simbel, 1200s BCE • Ramesses was last great warrior pharaohs • immense rock-cut temple • was moved in 1968 to save it from immersion in the Aswan Dam reservoir • Ramesses proclaimed his greatness by placing 4 colossal images of himself on the temple façade. • but they lack the refinement of earlier periods, because much was sacrificed to the overwhelming size (a characteristic of colossal statuary of every period and every place!) Temple of Ramses II, Abu Simbel (now relocated), Egypt, Dynasty XIX, ca. 1290-1224 BCE. Colossi approx. 65’ high Stokstad plate 3-41

35. There are images of Ramesses II everywhere • These columns themselves depicted him (male columns called atlantlds) • commoners could enter this part of the temple (it would have been like the people of medieval era entering the Cathedral. How they must have truly believed the god-Pharaoh Ramesses II!) Atlantids, Interior of the temple of Ramses II, Abu Simbel (now relocated).\, Egypt, Dynasty XIX, ca. 1290-1224 BCE

36. Tomb Paintings Fowling scene from the tomb of Nebamun, Thebes, Egypt, Dynasty XVIII, ca. 1400-1350 BCE. Fresco on dry plaster, approx. 2’ 8” high.

37. Tomb Paintings • Nebamun was a deceased nobleman • example of Egyptian artistic formulas • Here he is in a boat, flushing birds from • a papyrus swamp • hieroglyphic text was he is enjoying • recreation in the eternal afterlife • notice, here he is striding forward and • vigorously swinging this throwing stick • accompanied by wife and daughter, who are holding lotuses • figures scaled down in proportion to rank • animals show a naturalism based on careful observation • This is fresco secco—it lends itself to slow and meticulous work because you aren’t rushing to finish before the plaster dries

38. Amarna Period and Akhenaten • Akhenaten and Religion • Akhenaten (1365-1347 BCE) was originally named Amenhotep IV of the 18th dynasty • he tried to defeat the power of the priests by worshipping a single god, named Aten • if monotheistic, earliest one except for Judaism • he changed his name from one that incorporated the name of the polytheist supreme god Amun to one that incorporated the name of his single god, Aten • he closed the Amun temples and moved the capital from Thebe to Tell el-Amarna • So style of his period is called “Amarna style”

39. Amarna Style (Akhenaten Style) • a new style and new ideal of beauty in his choice of artists • the style incorporated not so much a greater realism as an unfreezing of the traditional immobility of Egyptian art • both contours and plastic (moveable) shapes seem more pliable and relaxed, also anti-geometric • Look at this picture: • This is a relief from the Aten Temple at Amarna. It depicts the pharaoh Akhenaton worshipping Aten. At the end of each ray of sunlight is a hand proffering an ankh, the hieroglyph for life. • oddly haggard features • overemphatic, undulating (wavy) • outlines

40. Amarna Style (Akhenaten Style) Akhenaten and his family, from Tell el-Amarna, Dynasty 18, c 1348-1336 BCE, Painted limestone relief, ~12” x 15” Stokstad plate 3-33

41. Amarna Style (Akhenaten Style) Akhenaton, from the temple of Amen-Re, Karnak, Egypt, Dynasty XVIII, ca. 1353-1335 BCE. Sandstone, approx. 13’ high

42. Amarna Style (Akhenaten Style) • This statue was knocked over and buried • after his death • Has the standard frontal pose, but also shows: • * effeminate body • * curving contours • * long, full-lipped face • * heavy-lidded eyes • * dreaming expression • Body is curiously misshapen: • * weak arms • * narrow waist • * protruding belly • * wide hips • * fatty thighs • Either it shows him as he really is (possibly • with morfan’s syndrome) or it’s an artistic • reaction against the established style, just as • Akhenaton reacted against the established • religion

43. Queen Nefertiti (Nofretete) Thutmose, Nefertiti, from Tell el-Amarna, Egypt,. Dynasty XVIII, ca. 1353-1335 BCE. Painted limestone, approx. 1’ 8” high. Stokstad plate 3-35

44. Queen Nefertiti (Nofretete) • masterpiece of Amarna style • very famous • deliberately unfinished • sculptor Thutmose • Notice the more naturalistic representation • that is characteristic of the Amarna style, • in which there was a temporary loosening of • artistic conventions Queen Nefertiti of Egypt's 18th dynasty never ceases to fascinate. Second only in fame to Cleopatra and through her most famous image, the bust made by Thutmose, even more admired for her beauty. Wife and joint ruler with the pharaoh Akhenaten (1367-1350 BCE. Painted limestone, approx. 1’8” high

45. Queen Tiye, mother of Akhenaten • contrast with head of Nefertiti • chief wife of Akhenaton's father and a commoner by birth (marriage for love, rather than politics?) • moving portrait of old age • made during Akhenaton's reign • miniature head: 3 ¾” high • she was dark-skinned (Egyptians were a people • of mixed race and frequently married other • Africans Queen Tiye, wood, with gold, silver, alabaster, and lapis lazuli, ca. 1353-1335 BCE, 3 ¾” high Stokstad plate 3-34

46. Tutankhamen • Akhenaton's successor • died at age 18 • echoes of Amarna style in the items found in Tut’s tomb (discovered by Howard Carter in the 1920s) Death mask of Tutankhamen, from innermost coffin in this tomb at Thebes, Egypt, c. 1323 BCE, gold with inlay of semiprecious stones, 1’ 9 ¼” high. Stokstad plate 3-38

47. Tutankhamen • gold coffin weights 250 pounds • exquisite workmanship of cover • a rich play of colored inlays against polished gold surfaced Innermost coffin of Tutankhamen, from tomb at Thebes, Egypt, c. 1323 BCE, gold with inlay of enamel and semiprecious stones, 6’ 1” long Stokstad plate 3-39

48. Post-Akhenaton • in King Tut’s time he moved the capital back to Thebes and adopted “Amon” back into his name • Egypt went back to the status quo with religion as it had been before Akhenaten • Egypt became increasingly priest-ridden until later Greek and Roman rule

49. Book of the Dead • the dead were thought to undergo a “last judgment” consisting of two tests presided over by Osiris and supervised by Annubis (god of mummification and the weighed of hearts in the underworld) • Osiris was god of the dead, lord of the underworld • Annubis was overseer of funerals and cemeteries, represented as a man with a jackal’s head • The two tests: • --first, the deceased was questioned by several deities about his behavior in life • --next, the heart of the dead was weighed (by Annubis) on a scale against an ostrich feather, the symbol of Maat, the goddess of truth and justice • --if the heart doesn’t pass this test, taken by dreaded “eater of the dead”

50. Book of the Dead, continued Last judgment of Hu-Nefer, from his tomb at Thebes, Dynasty 19, ca. 1290-1280 BCE, painted papyrus scroll, approx. 1’6” high. Stokstad plate 3-45