Through the Eras

Visual ArtsRe. The yellow associates women with the goddesses whohad gold skin. Foreigners such as Nubians had black skinwhile Asiatics from the modern Middle East had yellowskin. In the New Kingdom artists experimented with differentbackground colors. In the early Eighteenth Dynastythey used light gray and occasionally yellow backgrounds.Later in the Eighteenth Dynasty (1550–1295 B.C.E.) thebackgrounds were white. Ramesside artists of the Nineteenthand Twentieth Dynasties used yellow backgroundsprimarily.INTERPRETING EGYPTIAN ARTTOPICSin Visual ArtsREFLECTION. Art represents the world. But in ancientEgypt, art reflected a very particular worldview.Egyptian art reflected an idealized world and ignored anypart of the world that did not fit the ideal. Egyptian artalso incorporated certain fictions in order to express alarger truth. For example, Egyptian temple art alwaysshowed the king presiding over rituals. Since in realityit was impossible for the king to simultaneously leadevery temple ritual in every temple, every day, priestsusually substituted for him. Yet such scenes express alarger truth that the king was the only true intermediarywith the gods according to Egyptian thought.Though modern viewers cannot always take Egyptianart at face value, it is possible to discover Egyptian conceptionsof the perfect world in their art.GENDER DIFFERENCES. One approach to understandingEgyptian art might be to question its purpose.The main purpose of Egyptian art was to serve the needsof the elite, especially the king and his retainers, both inthis life and the next. Thus it might be that many scenescan be interpreted both as what they depict, but also asa way of sending a message to those whose support theking required. The representation of males and femalesin New Kingdom Egyptian tombs is a clear case wherethe artist conveys a message other than visual reality. Inthe typical New Kingdom tomb painting, relief, orstatue, males are dressed in kilts with perhaps a shirt,while women wear tight-fitting sheath dresses, probablymade from a single piece of cloth wrapped around thebody. Yet archaeological examples of ancient Egyptianclothing demonstrate that the most common garmentwas a bag tunic. This outfit was basically a linen bag withsleeves that fit very loosely. Both men and women woreARTTerminologyHistorians of Egyptian art use the traditional arthistory terminology in a slightly different manner fromhistorians of the art of other eras. The following definitionshelp the reader understand these differences.Artist: Egyptian artists are anonymous. In Egyptiansociety, artists were craftsmen, usually workingin large groups together on a project. There isno concept of the individual genius making artin ancient Egypt.Iconography: Iconography refers to symbols in art.Egyptian iconography allows a work of art tobe read. Since Egyptian writing was recorded inpictures (hieroglyphs), Egyptian art lends itselfto a very sophisticated iconography that can beclearly understood.Patron: The patron traditionally commissions a workof art. He or she is the benefactor who paysthe artist. In ancient Egypt, the patron is nearlyalways the state. Even individual tomb ownerscredit the king as the person who gave thetomb to the deceased as a gift. Thus Egyptianart always follows the official line. There are norebellious artists commenting on society inEgyptian art.Style: Style in art refers to the way the work ismade. Egyptian style is largely uniform for threethousand years. Differences in Egyptian style aresubtle and require training to understand andnotice them. An artist’s training in Egypt led himto attempt to follow the rules of style with littledeviation. There is little recognizable differencebetween the work of two Egyptian artists livingin the same time period. This situation especiallycontrasts with the modern world where individualstyle is valued.it. In art, however, men wear an outfit that suggests freedomof movement while a woman’s garment suggestsrestricted movement. Even without archaeological evidence,the typical female garment depicted in art couldnever match reality. The dresses are so impossibly tightthat a woman could not move, sit, or walk. The real intentionbehind this representation is to reveal thewoman’s body. These dresses clearly reveal the overallfemale form and the pubic triangle. Since the differencebetween everyday Egyptian reality and the presentationof people in art differ so radically, there must have beena reason for the difference.Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 269