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Ancient Egyptian Art And Contribution To Late Mesolithic Art

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There are many different art styles around the world that developed in various ways. Ancient Egyptian art is around 5 thousand years old, and it is a major contributor to late Mesolithic Art. It arose and took shape in the civilization of the Nile Valley. Ancient Egyptian art reached a high level in painting and sculpture, and was both extremely stylized and symbolic. Most of the Egyptian sculptures that have been well-preserved were initially made for temples and/or tombs. Egyptian sculpture and all Egyptian art was based on the belief in a life after death. The body of the pharaoh was carefully preserved, and certain goods were buried with him in the Pyramids of Giza to provide for his needs forever. Life-size and even much larger statues, carved in slate, alabaster, and limestone, were as regular and simple in shape as the tombs themselves. These statues were replicas of the rulers, the nobles, and the gods worshiped by the Egyptians, and were put in temples and burial chambers. Scenes engraved and painted in the tombs or on temple walls literally described Egyptian life. Eleanor Barton, in The History of Sculpture, states, “The Egyptians often combined features from various creatures to symbolize ideas. For example, the human head of the pharaoh Khafre is added to the crouching figure of a lion to form the Great Sphinx. This composition suggests the combination of human intelligence and animal strength.” Egyptian sculptors always presented clear ideas. The pharaoh or

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