DISCUSSION ESSAY
Here is what you are to do for this assignment:
- First, begin by searching the book or the Internet for two free-standing figures, two paintings, or two reliefs from ancient Egypt. Carefully examine and study the pair.
- As you are doing so, take note of the style qualities that were Egyptian conventions for 2-dimensional, 3-dimensional, or relief figures. Compare the two for style similarities they share. Remember to concentrate on style, not subject similarities in your descriptions.
- Then, in a substantial paragraph, discuss the style qualities the pair share and describe the style conventions as you see them.
- How are humans rendered, and does the social status of the figure make a difference in the portrayal?
- Your next step is to introduce one work produced during the time of Akhenaten. Analyze your sample for style.
- Discuss, in one paragraph, how artistic conventions were altered during the reign of King Akhenaten. Address what you feel may be an explanation for this deviation from the traditional style.
After reading through the posts of your peers, choose two, and respond with whether you agree with each peer’s analysis. Include why or why not.
Classmate 1 (Jonathan):
“During the Fifth Dynasty, many lifelike statues were created to represent less prominent figures such as scribes and butchers. Unlike the statues of the King, these statues represented a less dominate figure that portrayed a realistic view of the daily servant. The Seated Scribe and the Butcher both had realistic characteristics that depict a willingness to serve. The Scribe had a likable face, attentive eyes, and sat cross legged. The scribe looks as if he has never completed a demanding physical task and portrays a very clean look. The body of the scribe was less athletic unlike the upper-class statues of the King. The butcher is portrayed in an active pose engaging an ox with a knife and looking up to acknowledge the viewer. Unlike the Scribe, the butcher looks as if he has been hard at work and appears to have more masculine features. The artistic styles of the servant were the exact opposite of the upper-class figures. The upper-class figures were less engaging and more stern with exotic features.
Akhenaten’s reign was a drastic and radical shift of the Egyptian culture. This could have been due to Akhenaten identifying with a new religion and potentially the influence of his mother. In many of the Amarna style pieces of Art, you can see many feminine characteristics which would suggest to me a woman’s influence in Art during this time. “Akhenaten’s goals were actively supported not only by Nefertiti but also by his mother, QUEEN TIY (fig. 3–29). She had been the chief wife of the king’s father, Amenhotep III, and had played a significant role in affairs of state during his reign” (Stokstad, 2017) When looking at the colossal figure of Akhenaten, you can see very soft lines, curved hips, protruding collar bones, luscious lips, and long and thin arms. Prior to Akhenaten, the King was always seen as a superhuman with very masculine features that represent the dominance of his people. It appears that the future of Egyptian culture. “
Stokstad, M., & Cothren, M. W. (2017). Art History (6th ed.). Pearson Education (US). https://ecampus.vitalsource.com/books/9780134485058
Classmate 2 (Andrew Franklin):
“Ramose and his wife, which is from Ramose’s tomb at Thebes, is the first piece I have chosen to explore. It dates from the 18dynasty, which existed between 1375 and 1365 BCE. The second is Akhenaten and his family, also from the 18th Dynasty, dating from 1353–1336 BCE. These two pieces of art are painted limestone reliefs.
As with most ancient Egyptian artwork, people are shown in 2-dimensional shapes in both pieces. There is a focus on the family, and the humans are described as being young and energetic. These painted reliefs were used as decorations on the walls of tombs. Egyptian painters adhered to a fairly rigid set of conventions that they never deviated from. Egyptian art is conceptual and focuses on a lifelike portrayal of art, as opposed to drawing inspiration from what was observed in the natural world (Stokstad and Cothren, 2018).
Ancient Egyptian conceptual art reflected the belief in life after death, tales of the gods who oversaw the operation of the cosmos, and the king’s divinely bestowed authority to uphold order. All Egyptians recognized these concepts and aesthetic traditions visually through the country’s art (Watts, 1998).
It depicts Ramose wearing the vizier’s robe, with his followers seated behind him and his wife, for Ramose and his wife. This demonstrates Ramose’s riches and his social standing as a person in authority (Tomb of Ramose, 2009). Akhenaten appears in most works of art depicting him with a sun disk over his head. This is an image of the sun deity Aten. Since Akhenaten worshipped Aten and there was no longer any notion that pharaohs were gods in their own right, he attempted to make Aten the only deity in the sky and destroy all evidence of previous gods (Winters,2015). This was a departure from the custom of worshiping pharaohs as gods and representing them as such in art.
The enormous statue of Akhenaten from the Gempaaten temple appeared in another work of art from the Akhenaten era. Because painters typically alter the physical attributes of kings and queens while creating sculptures, this work deviates from traditional Egyptian art and customs. The statue displays a drooping belly, bulging collarbones, swollen thighs, spindly arms, and a stylized neck. In Egyptian art, facial features were twisted in order to convey an emotion that cannot be expressed in a 2-dimensional manner.”
Ramose and his wife
(Maciek67, 2017)
Akhenaten and his family
(Winters, 2015)
Egyptian Monuments (2009). Tob of Ramose. Retrieved from
(Maciek67, 2017). Scene from the east wall of the ancient tomb ramosa presenting the. . . iStock. https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/scene-from-the-east-wall-of-the-ancient-tomb-ramosa-presenting-the-image-of-owner-of-gm646981808-117385395Links to an external site.
(Watts, E. W., & Watts, E. A., 1998). Art of Ancient Egypt A Resource for Educators. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
(Winters, R. 2015). Ancient Origins. The Art of Amarna: Akhenaten and his life under the sun. https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-africa/art-amarna-akhenaten-and-his-life-under-sun-002587
