Egyptian Art

- to learn that art is an important way for people to express their ideas and beliefs about the world

- to begin to express their ideas and feelings about art, using basic art vocabulary

Objectives (for middle-school students):
- to understand how particular art forms reflect the values, beliefs, and world views of particular cultures

- to express and interpret in the language of the visual arts the content, structure, and meaning of art

- in sharing interpretations about the meaning of the art, to develop language and critical-thinking skills

- to discover that Egyptian beliefs about life after death, the powers of the gods, and the role of the king were communicated visually in forms of art understood by all Egyptians

- to recognize what looks Egyptian in Egyptian art

Objectives (for high-school students):
- to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of culture on the arts

- to analyze the impact of religious, political, and social views on the content and style of Egyptian art

- to think about how these influences affect the art of our own times

- to reflect upon the ways in which art is important in their own lives and to consider what kinds of art affect them most

Visual materials
The visual materials listed below are in an order that develops the progression of the lesson.

Statue of Hatshepsut
Statuette of an offering bearer
West wall from a chapel built by Sety I for his father, Ramesses I
Pectoral of Princess Sithathoryunet
Section from a Book of the Dead
Stela of a Middle Kingdom official
Menna and his family fishing and fowling
Tomb of Perneb
Temple of Dendur
Sphinx of Senwosret III
Statuette of Amun

Advance preparation
Read Looking at Egyptian Art, The King in Art, The Natural World, et cetera in this Web site. Depending upon the age of the group and the time allowed in the curriculum, you may decide to do some or all of the activities and discussions. The visual materials selected here illustrate the ways in which the formal elements of Egyptian art effectively express the meaning and function of the art (as do all the visual materials in the educators' resource). The idealized, balanced forms of Egyptian art express the Egyptian desire for order. The use of durable and valuable materials expresses Egyptian beliefs about eternity. The highly accurate naturalistic details in the art reveal the Egyptians' love of life.

Class discussion
Before students look at the artwork, ask them what functions they think art had in Egyptian civilization. What functions does art have today?

Begin discussions about the visual materials by asking the group to describe what they see.

Statue of Hatshepsut: Discuss the reaction one has looking at this figure. The seated pose is balanced, formal, and frontal--a pose that could be held forever. It is made of limestone, a material that will endure. To prevent parts of the figure from breaking, the space between the arms and torso was not cut out, nor is the space between the legs. It is a solid image of the monarch that is meant to last forever.

Statuette of an offering bearer: Is there action here? How would you describe it? Is the figure balanced or off balance? (Like the seated figure of Hatshepsut, this figure is centered and frontal. The pose with the left leg forward is typical of standing figures.)

West wall from a chapel built by Sety I for his father, Ramesses I: Notice how the gestures help to explain what is happening in this scene. Talk about how, in portraying the human figure, Egyptian artists used different points of view to show each part of the body in its most complete form. Discuss the composition and how it reflects the concern for order (clear outlines, symmetry, all the figures placed on the same ground line).

Pectoral of Princess Sithathoryunet: Compare this design with the composition of the relief from the chapel built by Sety I. (A concern for order similar to that in the relief can be seen in the clear gold outlines, symmetry, and ground line.)

Section from a Book of the Dead : Compare this with the two previous images. Notice here how other events believed to befall Nany in the afterlife are organized on a horizontal ground line above the main scene. This arrangement of depicting events in horizontal rows is typical in Egyptian art.

Stela of a Middle Kingdom official: Notice how the scale of the figures shows who is most important. Talk about the way the carver showed the food offerings.

Menna and his family fishing and fowling: Identify and talk about the Nile wildlife portrayed and how natural it looks. Also talk about how we can tell right away that this is an Egyptian work of art (clarity, symmetry, the human body depicted using multiple viewpoints, use of scale to show relative importance).

Tomb of Perneb, Temple of Dendur, and Sphinx of Senwosret III: Why did the Egyptians use stone to create tombs, temples, and statues? If you look at the solids and voids of the tomb and temple, what do you think the basic design unit of Egyptian architecture was? (Notice cubes and rectangles.) Does the shape of the sphinx conform? Explain.

Statuette of Amun: Why portray the god in gold? (Gold was treasured for its color and sheen, which symbolized the sun. The gods were believed to have golden flesh. Because gold does not tarnish or disintegrate with time, it symbolized eternal life.)

Related Activities:
You as an Egyptian
Body Language
Eating It Up
Art and Culture