2 Art for Eternity: Egypt, Mesopotamia and Crete Flashcards
Why is the art of the Egyptians important for Europeans?
Because it is the beginning of the tradition handed down from master to pupil, through ancient Greece, to our times.
Why did Egyptians preserve bodies?
Believed in an afterlife where the soul, or ka, continued to exist after death. They thought that the preservation of the body was essential for the ka to recognize and return to its earthly form in the afterlife.
Why were pyramids built? Main reason
Preserve body of king and provide everything needed for journey to afterlife.
Identify, date, describe
Pyramids of Giza, 2563 BC
Monumental tombs constructed for pharaohs, symbolizing their ascent to the afterlife.
Identify, date, describe
Portrait head, 2500 BC, limestone, found in tomb at Giza.
Identify, date, describe
Garden of Nebamun, c1400BC, from tomb in Thebes
Painted representations a step forward from entombing king with live servants and goods.
Everything represented from most characteristic angle so objects stand out with perfect clarity. Like map making.
These were meant to be seen only by dead man’s soul.
Garden of Nebamun, c1400BC, from tomb in Thebes
In what way does this represent a step forward for Egyptian civilisation?
Painted representations a step forward from entombing king with live servants and goods.
Garden of Nebamun, c1400BC, from tomb in Thebes
Who were these meant to be seen by?
Only by dead man’s soul.
Why are egyptian depictions of bodies so flat and contorted?
They wanted to display all body parts from most characteristic angle –so face from side, but eye from front. Both feet with big toe facing out.
What’s important is that each feature be recognisable, not anatomically accurate.
Identify, date, describe
Jackal-faced god Anubis supervising the weighing of a dead man’s heart, while the ibis-head messenger god Thoth records the result, c 1285 BC
Scene from an Egyptian ‘Book of the Dead’, painted papyrus scroll placed in deceased’s tomb.
Name 4 laws of depiction in Egyptian art?
1 Each object painted from most characteristic angle
2 Seated statues have to have hands on knees
3 Men painted with darker skin than women
4 More significant figures larger in size
What happened after the reign of Akhnaten?
Subsequent rulers –such as his successor Tutankhamun–dismantled his temples and reverted to polytheism.
Whom did Akhnaten worship?
Only one god, the sun god Aten.
Who was Akhnaten’s wife and what did her name mean?
Wife Nefertiti. Means “the beautiful woman has arrived”.
What’s remarkable about the course of Egyptian art?
It changed very little over 3000 years. Artists were required only to successfully repeat what had come before.
Years of Akhnaten’s reign?
Reigned Egypt 1353-1336.
Identify, date, describe
Akhnaten and Nefertiti with their children, c1345BC
New phase of representation – “Amarna style,” named after the city he founded, Akhetaten (modern-day Tell el-Amarna).
More naturalistic portrayals, including intimate family scenes –less solemn.
More dynamic, active poses.
God Aten depicted as sun with hands extended in blessing offering life (ankh). First non-humanoid Egyptian god.
Identify, date, describe
Dagger, c1600BC
Found at Mycenae, bronze inlaid with gold silver and niello.
Free-flowing style similar to the Amarna style – although around 3 centuries earlier.
What is niello?
A black mixture, usually of sulphur, copper, silver, and lead, used as an inlay on engraved or etched metal, especially silver.
What is Mycenae?
Archaeological site in north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) south-west of Athens.
Period of Greek history from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is called Mycenaean in reference to Mycenae.
Identify, date, describe
Bull-headed lyre, fragment, c 2600BC,
Found in Ur, city ruled by Sumerians, now southern Iraq.
What is city of Ur?
City in present-day Iraq, centre of ancient Sumer (c. 4000–2000 BC).
Renowned for its monumental ziggurat and as a trade hub, possibly Abraham’s birthplace.
Notable for King Ur-Nammu’s law code, its royal tombs revealed lavish goods, excavated mainly by Sir Leonard Woolley in the 1920s.
What is Mesopotamia?
Mesopotamia, ancient region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, birthplace of writing and urban civilization, comprised Sumer, Assyria, and Babylon.
Now mainly Iraq but also bits of Syria, Iran and Turkey.
Identify, date, describe
Assyrian army besieging fortress, c 883.
Alabaster relief from palace of KInd Asurnasirpal II at Nimrud.
Complete chronicle of campaign, complete with wailing woman in tower and siege machines.
No Assyrians depicted as wounded, perhaps because of fear that representation would influence reality.
Prefigures classical reliefs, such as Trajan’s column.
Assyrian army besieging fortress, c 883.
Why are no Assyrians depicted aas wounded?
Perhaps because of fear that such a representation would influence reality.
Assyrian army besieging fortress, c 883.
What works does this prefigure?
Prefigures classical reliefs, such as the Parthenon Frieze and Trajan’s column.
In what period of Egyptian history did Akhnaten rule?
During period of New Kingdom (1570-1070BC)
What are the characteristics of the “Amarna style,” named after city of Akhetaten (modern-day Tell el-Amarna)?
More naturalistic portrayals, including intimate family scenes –less solemn.
More dynamic, active poses.
Why are there fewer relics in Sumerian burial sites than in Egyptian?
Rulers were buried with servants, food, etc. rather than representations of them, so fewer relics survive.
What was the largest city in the world in 2000BC
Ur was largest city in world around 2000BC – with 65000 inhabitants.
