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Ancient Egyptian Art : The Art Of Ancient Egypt

Decent Essays

The people of Ancient Egypt believed in the afterlife, and therefore it is no surprise that most of the art that survived from that time is connected to the dead—especially the popular figures such as the pharaohs. The early Egyptian paintings were very basic and were painted in rocks that portrayed everyday life objects. The pharaohs were like the gods of the earth which is why the Egyptians often represented the gods and the pharaohs with very similar features in some of the artwork. Even though most of the Egyptian art was found in tombs and, as mentioned before, had a solid connection with the afterlife, some of the artwork from Ancient Egypt also illustrated how family life was structured.
According to the book The Art and …show more content…

These palettes not only show how Egyptian civilization progressed, but also made it clear that the pharaoh, or ruler, will always triumph.
As mentioned previously, the afterlife and the art of Egypt are strongly related. According to the book Ancient Egyptian Art, when a person passed away the Egyptians embalmed the body to preserve it. A painting on Djedbastinfanth’s wooden coffin at El Hiba (600 BC) illustrates scenes where bodies are being prepared for burial. This painting supports the claim that art and the afterlife always go hand in hand. It was also an Egyptian custom to be buried with items that they thought would be needed for the afterlife. The Egyptians tended to make small sculptures, such as the Model of servants (c.1900 BC, clay) which were little servant statues that would be buried with their master/mistress so that they could serve him or her in the afterlife. However, the pharaoh would not be buried with plain statues like these; the pharaoh was buried with carved and painted sculptures of royal officials who would accompany him in the afterlife. These sculptures are a prime example that shows how the art and afterlife of Egypt are interconnected. Another example comes from the papyrus of Hunefer at Thebes (c.1320 BC, 116 in.). The scene illustrates priests and mourners at the entrance of Hunefer’s tomb practicing burial rituals. After exploring some

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