Art & Architecture

1. Art & Architecture By: Adam, Ben, Nick, Zeeshan & Cameron

2. Topics • Pyramids • Tombs • Paintings • Pottery • Sculptures

3. Introduction • Throughout history Egyptian art and architecture became more and more advanced. • Religion was the catalyst behind most of the advancements. • Purpose of art & architecture was to portray and immortalize one’s existence.

4. Pyramids • Pre Dynastic Era • Art & Architecture • No pyramids at this time in history • Early Dynasty • Art • No Pyramids • Architecture • Mastabas first appear, constructed with mud bricks. • Placed on top of grave

5. Pyramids Cont’d • Old Kingdom • Art • Intricate carvings on the surface of the Mastaba • Architecture • Stone is first used in construction • Step Pyramid of Djoser first example of a pyramid • Series of smaller Mastabas stacked on top of each other • Imhotep is accredited for its conception

6. Pyramids Cont’d • The Bent Pyramid has angles of 43 degrees • Angle modified from 60 to 43 • Retained its casing stone • Limestone used for flexibility • 2 entrances (One North & one south) • Pyramids of Giza made of stone • Not exactly known how they were made. Cause for much speculation

7. Pyramids Cont’d • New Kingdom • Art & Architecture • Abandoned Pyramids in favor of tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

8. Tombs • Pre Dynastic Era • Art • No art in tombs • Architecture • No tombs only shallow graves • Early Dynasty • Art • Artistic standard set at this point in history • Architecture • Mastabas were used at this point.

9. Tombs Cont’d • Old Kingdom • Art • Limestone reliefs carved intricately used in tombs • Reliefs depicting the person’s life placed in tomb • Art within the “Snefurunian” pyamids was minimal • Architecture • Limestone load bearing columns implemented • Step pyramid had over 6km of subterranean passageways

10. Tombs Cont’d • Pyramids created by Sneferu all had square floor plans with burial chamber in the middle • Giza Plateau Pyramids all similar to Sneferu pyramids, only much bigger and elaborately designed. • Middle Kingdom • Art & Architecture • Not much innovation

11. Tombs Cont’d • New Kingdom • Art • Tombs covered in religious texts and reliefs • Architecture • Egyptian abandoned pyramids • Underground tombs hidden in the cliff face and in valleys soon became the preferred structure • Over time tombs accumulated in a certain area creating the Valley of the Kings • Started of with tombs with one or two passageways • By the end of the New kingdom the tombs had over 100 chambers and passageways • Tombs painstakingly carved out of bed rock.

12. Paintings • Paintings managed to survive due to the dry climate of the Sahara Desert. • Paintings were often about passing on to the afterlife or about their protective deities. • Tomb paintings often showed what the buried has done in their life. • Wall murals were a common form of decoration in ancient Egyptian buildings. • Large-scale paintings were the result of teamwork, with each person specializing in one aspect of the process.

13. Paintings Cont’d • Common colors for Egyptian paintings are red, blue, black, gold, and green. • Relief paintings are when the artists carves into rock to give it a feel and texture.

14. Paintings Cont’d • Pre Dynastic Era • Monumental treatment was given to designs like those drawn in red on buff-colored pottery from Hieraconpolis • Old Kingdom • Unity of style was formed and had a different appearance to the predynastic art. • Middle Kingdom • The art style developed a little bit from the Old Kingdom, but wasn't exactly unified and perfect till later.

15. Paintings Cont’d • New Kingdom • Can be viewed as final stage in art development of Egypt. • Paintings are noted for their boldness of design and vitality. • Later New Kingdom had art style that reflected naturalistic tendencies and a new sense of life • A little later than that, the  New Kingdom had a new art style similar to how it started out, but the vitality in them were lost. • By the time the Syrians invaded, art declined, but metalworking increased

16. Pottery • Pottery was first used to store things for egyptians • Pottery was used to store food and drink • Most pottery was made of reddish brown clay • Pottery was used to bury body parts of the dead • Pottery would sometimes represent the interior part of the body such as the lungs • Egyptians used nile clay and marl clay

17. Pottery Cont’d • Canopic jars were used during the mummification process to store body parts • Imsety the human headed god stored the liver • Hapy the baboon headed god looked after the lungs • Duamutef the jackal headed god looks after the stomach • Qebehsenuef  the falcon headed god looks after the intestines

18. Sculptures • Pre Dynasty Egypt • Terracotta (clay) sculptures • Rudimentary designs • Old Kingdom • Sculpting main art form, using sunk relief • Mainly placed in tombs and temples • Ka statues used as resting place for soul • Ushabtis placed in graves and tombs • Colossal sculptures built during this time

19. Sculptures Cont’d • Middle Kingdom • Block statues were made popular for 2000 years • Sculptures become more realistic • New Kingdom • Amarna art begins • Sculptures reflect nobility and detail • Tries to reclaim old art form, sculptures are repetitive

20. Sculptures Cont’d • Techniques and Guidelines • Statues used “Sunk Relief” technique • Males were darker than females • Class was represented by colour • All gods had specific features • Art was ranked according to how it followed the conventions and guidelines • Egyptians tried to keep the same art style, to have a timeless appearance