Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Art History > Egyptian Art > Flashcards

Egyptian Art Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
AP® U.S. History flashcards European History 101 flashcards AP® European History flashcards AP® World History flashcards World History 102 flashcards U.S. History 102 flashcards World History 101 flashcards U.S. History 101 flashcards
1
Q

What are the approximate dates of the ancient Egyptian civilization?

A

3000 BC -332 BC

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

How did the Nile river shape Egyptian world view?

A 
-good climate, navigable
flooded fields in the summer at the right time
-basin irrigation
-lots of surplus with little work
-free time= built stuff
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

How did the Egyptians view the afterlife?

A
  • optimism

- buried with useful things used in regular bc the afterlife was seen as a continuation of life

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What are the 3 broad categories or periods within the ancient Egyptian civilization?

A
  • 2649 -2152 BC = Old Kingdom
  • pyramids of giza, sun king Ra, rich but 2250 BC= droughts→ pharaohs started fighting
  • 2040-1640 BC= Middle Kingdom
  • outside rulers from Nubia
  • Amenra (new gods)
  • conquered/got conquered
  • superior military tech (bronze, compound bows)
  • 1550-1070 BC= New Kingdom
  • no more geographical isolation–> go conquer
  • Hatshepsut
  • Akhenaten
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

How were the pharaohs regarded?

A

considered a god/close to a god, acted like a God→ act like the Niles (calm, benevolent)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

During which period were pyramids primarily built? What was their function?

A
  • Pyramids= political/social control over population
  • people make a tomb for another person
  • 2475-2465 BC= most famous pyramids made
  • Sphinx built for Kefren
  • Great Pyramid built for Khufu
  • built by peasants who were required to work for gov for a certain number of months per year and slaves
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Who was Ra? What purpose did the gods serve?

A
  • sun god, god of creation, started off as a regional god, became central
  • if humans did their jobs, the pantheon of god would keep cosmic order
  • bc pharaohs became god when they died, it made sense to please them during their life
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What types of writing systems did the Egyptians use?

A
  • hieroglyphics for sacred writings

- demotic wiring for contracts….agreements

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What was special about the pharaoh Hatshepsut?

A
  • woman, ruled Egypt for 22 yrs

- expanded Egypt through trade, not military conquest

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

How did the pharaoh Tutankhamen come to power? What makes him so important to Egyptology today?

A

-his tomb was found by 20th century British people, it wasn’t robbed by ancient people

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What are some of the functions of Egyptian art? How were they used and in what context?

A
  • not meant to be seen
  • to honor a divine person or a dead person
  • statues =designed to be facing straight forward to face a ritual
  • placed in niches/architectural settings
  • make frontality look natural /correct
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What are some of the functions of Egyptian statuary?

A
  • allowed the spirit to interact with the real world
  • cult statues were part of a daily ritual of clothing, anointing, and perfuming with incense
  • served as intermediaries between the ppl and the gods (chapels with statue of dead forefather= family temple)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What are some of the modes of representation in 2-dimensional art?

A
  • provide representative aspects of each element in scenes rather than attempting to copy the real world
  • each object rendered from a most recognizable angle
  • not just one viewpoint
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

register

A
  • parallel lines in which scenes are ordered in
  • ground-line
  • without it= unusual, used to portray chaos (battles, hunting)
  • used to convey info about scenes (the higher up the scene the higher the status)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

hierarchy of scale

A

-shows the importance of a person/status in size (the bigger the image, the more important it is)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

How did text function in conjunction with art?

A
  • text is accompanied in a majority of images
  • hieroglyphics are like pieces of art
  • the name of an artwork/figure would have an identification at the end (ex. verbs of motion are followed by a pair of walking legs..)
17
Q

canon of proportions

A
  • each body part is proportional to a different part of the body
  • it was thought that using this system would portray the ideal human body and its beauty
  • it would make the image easier to recognize (shoulders and eye are frontal, arms and legs are profile)
18
Q

Palette of Narmer

A
  • Narmer (pharaoh)–> not very popular but still made a huge impact
  • shows important moment in Egyptian politics→ the unification of upper and lower Egypt
  • one side shows Narmer (lean, muscular, god-like qualities) is wearing the bowling pin crown of upper egypt and the other shows him wearing the red cobra crown of lower egypt (hieroglyphics let us know that the 2 pharaohs are the same person)
  • single king rules Egypt
  • hierarchy of scale→ Narmer is much bigger than all the other ppl depicted in the piece
19
Q

purpose of the Pyramids of Giza

A
  • mortuary complex
  • tombs of pharaohs, temple at the base, stone causeway
  • place of regeneration for a dead ruler
20
Q

In what ways did the pyramid reference the sun?

A
  • made to look like a solidified version of the sun’s rays

- the sun’s rays were believed to the the way a pharaoh climb to the sky

21
Q

Menkaure and Khamerernebty statue

A
  • stance of Menkaure= assertive, powerful, ideal many beauty; stiff
  • wife= more realistic posing kinda→ subordinate?, hair/wig is symbol of maturity
22
Q

How did Hatshepsut come to power?

A
  • assumed authority before and during the time her son could rule
  • most women rulers only ruled in the time until a man was old enough to assume power
23
Q

What kind of mythology did Hatshepsut create about herself?

A
  • described her divine birth

- an oracle predicted she would be king

24
Q

How did art and architecture serve Hatshepsut’s interests?

A
  • interested in the power of art to convey royal authority
  • adopted the forms of previous statues of pharaohs to show herself as king
  • looked like a male (no breasts, broad shoulders, beard, headdress)
  • there was no word for queen at the time
25
Q

What happened to Hatshepsut’s art?

A
  • 20 yrs after she died, the pharaoh her co-ruled (her son)with had all art related to Hatshepsut destroyed (images of her), not just sculptures but also art written on walls
  • but granite is very hard and not easy to destroy; and she commissioned hundreds of sculptures of herself
26
Q

What parallels might you draw between the destruction of the temple in Palmyra and the destruction of Hatshepsut’s temple after her death?

A
  • Hatshepsut’s temple was destroyed by the order of the next pharaoh after her in an attempt erase all memory of her and make way for the new pharaoh.
  • The destruction of Palmyra is similar because ISIS wants to forget the past and get ready for what they think will be a new caliphate with them in control.
27
Q

​What are some of the hallmarks of Akentaten’s reign?

What are some of the theories that might explain his strange appearance in artistic representations?

A
  • made Aten the only god
  • new capital of Akhentateen
  • granted his chief wife, Nefertiti, with power (co-regent?)
  • might have had a disability that created a physical deformity
  • maybe the deformity in statues/art was just symbolic

Art History (6 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions