"Ta-Meri -" Beloved Country ". This is what the ancient Egyptians called their land. And they had every reason to love their country and admire it. The unique nature made it possible already in the deepest antiquity to arise on the banks of the Nile of a very early civilization. This civilization, developing over many centuries, created the highest culture, which gave humanity wonderful works of architecture, literature, and art.
Historical, economic and social conditions for the formation of the culture of Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt! The narrow valley of the Nile among waterless deserts and bare rocks. More than 90% of the territory of Egypt is occupied by the desert, the so-called "Red Land". Life there was possible only in oases and in the valleys of dry rivers. But thanks to the floods of the Nile, this land was one of the most fertile in the world. That is why the economy ancient egypt based on agriculture in the fertile Nile Valley. It was only necessary to be able to retain water and improve agriculture. This required common efforts, common organization, which are possible only with a strong centralized state.At the end of the 4th millennium BC, at a time when Europe lived in the Stone Age, in North Africa, a highly developed civilization was already maturing in the Nile Valley.
Ancient Egypt developed in the lower and middle reaches of the Nile.
Already in the 2nd half of the 2nd millennium BC, during its heyday - in the era of the New Kingdom, the power of the pharaohs extended to the fourth Nile rapids in the south and extended to large areas in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as on the coast of the Red Sea.
All Egypt from the early dynastic period was divided into two large areas: Upper and Lower Egypt. And these, in turn, had several dozen regions, which the Greeks called nomes.
Egyptian beliefs and their reflection in art.
The ancient Egyptians, like many people in ancient times, and in our time, believed that a person has a soul that leaves his body after death. They believed that the soul after death flies between two worlds - the earthly and the other world. So that the soul could freely leave the grave and then return there, a symbolic exit was arranged in the wall of the above-ground part of the tomb in the form of a slightly recessed niche.Among Egyptian amulets, the image of the scarab beetle was widespread. The ancient Egyptians believed that the scarab had life-giving powers. He was a symbol eternal life. A scarab rolling a ball is a symbol of the movement of the solar disk across the sky.
First of all, the art of Ancient Egypt reflected the care of the ancient Egyptians about eternal life and the other world. These are tombs, sarcophagi, funeral and ritual statues.
The ancient Egyptians believed that for the successful existence of a spiritual person in the afterlife, the preservation of his “material shell” is necessary. Hence the capital stone structures - tombs and the appearance of portrait statues of the deceased and his entourage (substitute mummy).
Much was done for a blissful eternal life in the other world.
Another important component of Egyptian art is the cult of the pharaoh, the god-equal ruler of Egypt. This was necessary to strengthen the power and unity of the state. In art, the cult of the pharaoh was reflected in the grandiose monumentality of architecture and the creation of numerous statues, colossi, sphinxes, reliefs and murals.
The main features (features) of the art of ancient Egypt
The Egyptian civilization was the creator of:
- magnificent monumental stone architecture
- a sculptural portrait, remarkable for its realistic truthfulness
- beautiful handicrafts.
1.
Monumentality of stone architecture.
2.
The realism and truthfulness of sculptural portraits is combined with generalization and stylization.
3.
A striking feature of the art of Ancient Egypt was devotion to traditions in art and the observance of certain canons.
The reason for this was that the vast majority of ancient Egyptian art monuments had a religious and cult purpose. Therefore, the creators of these monuments were obliged to follow the established canons.
4. Canonization of the simplest image techniques. This happened due to the fact that the religious beliefs of the Egyptians attributed a sacred meaning to the artistic appearance of the first, most ancient monuments of Egyptian art.
In the art of Ancient Egypt, a number of conventions were preserved, dating back to primitive art and becoming canonical:
- the image of objects and animals that are invisible to neither the viewer nor the artist, but which can definitely be present in this scene (for example, fish and crocodiles under water).
- depiction of an object using a schematic enumeration of its parts (leaves of trees in the form of a set of conventionally arranged leaves or plumage of birds in the form of individual feathers);
- a combination in the same scene of images of objects made from different angles. For example, the bird was depicted in profile, and the tail on top;
The combination of different angles was also used when depicting a human figure:
- head in profile
- eye in full face,
- shoulders in front,
- arms and legs - in profile.
5.
Another feature of the ancient Egyptian style is the emphasized geometric forms in architecture and sculpture.
In this way the Egyptians achieved the generalization or stylization that the canon required. There are suggestions that geometrization and special proportionality were due to the work of the ancient Egyptians mainly with stone, and not with clay, as was the case, for example, in Mesopotamia. 
In ancient Egypt, the sculptor was called "sankh", which means "creator of life." Recreating the image of the deceased, he seemed to recreate a double in case the mummy rots...
Egyptian art was recreated to the glory of the kings and the ideas of the divinity of the king (pharaoh). It is important that it was conceived not as a source of aesthetic pleasure, but, first of all, as a statement in amazing forms and images of these ideas themselves and the power that was endowed with the pharaoh - “good god”, according to his official title.
periodization
(according to Mathieu M.E. Art of Ancient Egypt.)1. predynastic period. Con. 5 - 4 thousand BC Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. OK. 3000 BC
2. early kingdom. Beginning 3 thousand BC (from 3000 to 2800 BC)
3. Ancient kingdom. 3rd millennium BC
4. Middle Kingdom. 21st century - 18th century BC.
5. New kingdom. OK. 1600 - 11th century BC.
6. Late time. 11th c. - 9th c. BC.
7. Hellenistic Egypt. 332 BC (conquest by Alexander the Great) - 30 BC
Predynastic period
Con. 5 - 4 thousand BCAlready during the pre-dynastic period, the ancient Egyptians, who lived in tribal communities, especially carefully decorated the grave of the leader, since it was believed that his “eternal” existence ensured the prosperity of the entire community.
In the fine arts of this period, a system of certain ways of conveying the surrounding reality is gradually beginning to take shape - the ancient Egyptian style. This can be clearly seen in a group of monuments important for the history of art - tiles with relief images. Small flat stone plates were used for grinding and mixing paints used during cult ceremonies.
The first monument that very clearly shows the addition of the ancient Egyptian style and is of national importance is the Narmer Slab.
OK. 3000 BC e. Slate. Height - 64 cm.
It refers to the important time of the formation of the Egyptian civilization and the emergence of the first ancient Egyptian state.
The plate was made to commemorate the unification of Upper (southern) and Lower (northern) Egypt into a single state.
After the victory, King Menes founded a new capital in Memphis, on the border of the two countries, which allowed him to more successfully rule the united state.
The plate has come down to us from his successor Narmer.
Content:
On one side, a king in the crown of southern Egypt kills a northerner, below, fleeing northerners.
On the other side, above, there is a celebration on the occasion of the victory: the king in the crown of the defeated North goes with his associates to look at the decapitated corpses of enemies, and below is the king in the form of a bull destroying the enemy fortress and trampling the enemy; the middle part of this side is occupied by a symbolic cult scene of unclear content.
In this monument, one can already trace the main features of the emerging ancient Egyptian style:
- Linear image
- Addition of a finished composition with a compositional center (principle of dominance and subordination)
- The expressiveness of silhouettes.
- Consistency and symmetry in the image of figures.
- Individual figures are made larger than the rest to emphasize their important role.
Early kingdom
From 3000 to 2800 BCArchitectureArchitecture occupied a leading position in Egyptian art from the earliest times.
Residential architecture made of wood and raw brick (made of unbaked clay) has not been preserved.
In the field of tomb architecture, by the end of the Early Kingdom, the appearance of the burials of Egyptian kings and nobility was formed.
The brick and stone building included underground burial chambers and a rectangular structure above the ground. Its walls were inclined inwards, and topped with a flat roof.
In the aboveground part, cult rooms were arranged for statues of gods and the owner of the tomb with an altar in front of the so-called false door, that is, in front of the image of the door, as if leading to the “eternal home” of the deceased.
The name of these buildings is mastaba (from the Arabic bench).
ancient kingdom
28th - 23rd centuries BC.The time of the final addition of all the main forms of Egyptian art.
Architecture
It was during the period of the Old Kingdom that the most famous Egyptian type of tomb, the pyramid, was formed.
The ancient Egyptian architects were faced with the task of impressing the overwhelming power and strength of the power of the pharaoh. To this end, to increase the above-ground part of the tomb, a pyramid shape was invented.
Ancient Kingdom, mid 27th century BC. Architect Imhotep. Most likely, the architect's intention was to place several mastabas of decreasing size on top of each other.
Transitional view. Early 26th century BC. Ancient kingdom.
Egyptian necropolises have always been located on the west bank of the Nile.
The pharaohs of the 4th dynasty chose a place for their burials not far from Saqqara - in modern Giza.
The three great classical pyramids of the pharaohs Cheops (Khufu), Khafre (Khafra) and Menkaure (Menkaur). They are made of giant limestone blocks, with an average weight of 2.5 tons, which are held by their own gravity.
The ensemble includes small pyramids of queens and mortuary temples adjoining the pyramid on the east side.
A sphinx was often placed next to the lower mortuary temple.
Sphinx- a lying lion with a human face. He embodied the superhuman essence of the pharaoh.
At the lower mortuary temple of Khafre, the Great Sphinx is placed. It is believed that he has a portrait image of the pharaoh. Carved from a monolithic limestone rock. The statue is missing a nose, the damage is one meter wide.
Versions: this detail of the statue was knocked off by a cannonball during the battle between Napoleon and the Turks (1798); the falsity of this opinion is indicated by the drawings of a Danish traveler who saw a noseless sphinx already in 1737 - in other versions of the legend, the place of Napoleon is occupied by the British or the Mamelukes.
Photograph of the 19th century. Architect Hemiun. Second quarter of the 26th century BC. One of the "seven wonders of the world". Built on a massive natural rocky elevation, which turned out to be in the very middle of the base of the pyramid, its height is about 9 meters. The lining of the pyramid was made, which made it shine in the sun.
Towards the end of the Old Kingdom period, a new type of building appears - the solar temple. It was built on a hill and surrounded by a wall. In the center of a spacious courtyard with chapels, a colossal stone obelisk with a gilded copper top and a huge altar at the foot was placed.
. Obelisk with Egyptian inscriptions.
Sculpture
Sculpture, like all Egyptian art, had ritual significance.In the pyramids, in a special room, a statue of the deceased was necessarily placed in case something happened to the mummy.
In the era of the Old Kingdom, the main features of sculpture developed:
- symmetry and frontality in the construction of figures
- clarity and calm poses.
- geometrism and generalization of form.
- obligatory preservation of portrait features.
Image of the whole figure:
1.
standing with the left leg extended forward - the posture of movement in eternity.
2.
Seated on a cube-shaped throne. 3.
In the scribal pose with legs crossed on the ground.
Triad of Menkaure (Cairo).
Pharaoh Menkaure accompanied by goddesses. Sculptural group from the mortuary temple of Menkaure at Giza. Ancient kingdom.
Pose of movement in eternity. The theme of the unity of the divine pharaoh with the patron goddesses. Impeccably beautiful forms.
Ancient kingdom. Symmetry and frontality in the construction of the figure.
. 27th century BC e. Ancient kingdom. Cairo Museum.
Noble spouses are solemnly seated before us. According to the canon, the male figure is painted brick red, the female - yellow. The hair on the erect heads was always black, and the clothes white. No halftones, decorative.
Scribe Kai. From his tomb at Saqqara. Limestone with coloring, eye inlay. 25 - 1 floor. 24th century BC. H - only 53 cm. The body is tinted in the traditional "tan color" for male figures. Pictured without a wig. A close, attentive look, ready to record.
The statue was found during excavations in con. 19th century When the workers made their way into the tomb, the eyes of the statue flashed so brightly that the poor fellows fled in horror. And then, mistaking her for the incarnation of the devil, they wanted to smash her. The head of the excavations had to defend the ancient statue with a pistol in his hands. So the statue of Kaya almost died due to the power of the artistic effect of the inlaid eyes.
Squirrels were made from opaque quartz; the cornea was made of crystal covered with brown resin, which, shining through the crystal, created the illusion of brown eyes. The pupil was a drop of black resin that filled a small depression on the back of the "cornea".
middle kingdom
21st - 18th centuries BC.From the 23rd to the 21st centuries as a result of the warrior, the decline of the idea of the divine power of the pharaoh, the country collapsed. This influenced the development of individualism in art.
Individualism manifested itself in the fact that everyone began to take care of their own immortality - not only the pharaoh and the noble nobility, but also simple people. The cult of the dead has been greatly simplified. Mastaba-type tombs became an unnecessary luxury. To ensure eternal life, one stele became enough - a stone slab on which magical texts were written.
The pharaohs continued to build tombs in the form of pyramids, but their size was significantly reduced. The material for construction was no longer stone blocks, but raw brick, so at present these pyramids are piles of ruins.
With a new stage of centralization of power in the period of the Middle Kingdom, construction again intensified.
Along with the pyramids, a new type of burial structures appeared - a half-rock temple. It combined the traditional shape of a pyramid and a rock tomb.
(Valley of the Kings). Middle Kingdom.
Sculpture
On the head is the dress of the pharaohs: a striped scarf with a convex image of a sacred snake above the forehead. Seated regally on the throne. More individual than previous sculptures (for example, the statue of f.Khephren, the Old Kingdom).
. Gaze, energetic facial expression with wide cheekbones give out the cool temper of this king.
new kingdom
OK. 1600 - 11th century BC.After the split of the Middle Kingdom, a united Egypt rose up with renewed vigor in the New Kingdom. This is the period of the highest prosperity, the triumph of Egyptian power. The king of the then powerful state of Mitanni testified that in the power of the pharaoh "gold is like dust."
Construction still has the goal of affirming the divine character of royal power. But instead of pyramids, temples are now being built.
The tombs of the pharaohs are being built in the so-called "Valley of the Kings" - Deir el-Bahri opposite Thebes.
An example of a semi-rocky mortuary temple can serve.
OK. 1500 BC Architect Senmut.
All parts of the temple are located on a horizontal axis. Three terraces rise one above the other. Alternating horizontal lines represent infinity or eternity. On the terraces there were ponds, densely lined with trees. The halls of the temple are carved into the rock.
(Senenmut, favorite of the queen) with Hatshepsut's little daughter Neferura.
The halls of the temple were decorated with magnificent paintings and sculptures depicting expeditions to distant lands.
Like the temples themselves, everything in front of them breathed solemnity and grandeur: alleys of sphinxes, giant statues of pharaohs - colossi.
Gigantomania distinguishes many monuments of the New Kingdom era.
Ramses II is one of the most powerful pharaohs of the New Kingdom.
The statues of the pharaoh at the entrance to the temple are striking in their size - 20 m in height. The temple is dedicated to the pharaoh and three gods: Amun, Ra, and Ptah.
Head of the colossus of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel
The most grandiose buildings of the New Kingdom are the temples of Karnak and Luxor.
Architect Ineni. Dedicated to the supreme god - Amon. It was built for several centuries - from the Middle Kingdom to the Ptolemaic era. Each pharaoh tried to perpetuate his name here.
The temple was an elongated rectangle surrounded by a high massive wall.
Karnak. Plan. 1. Alley of sphinxes. 12th c. BC e. 2. A large courtyard with temples of the pharaohs Seti II and Ramses III. 3. Hypostyle hall. 15th-13th centuries BC e. 4. Yard. 5. The main part of the temple of the god Amon-Ra (16-12 centuries BC) with the ruins of the temple of the Middle Kingdom and the temple of Pharaoh Thutmes III. 6. Temple of the god Khonsu. 12th c. BC e. Roman numerals denote pylons.
The temple consisted of a complex of structures located along the longitudinal axis of the temple: A road led from the Nile to the temple - an alley of sphinxes.
starts from the ancient pier on the banks of the Nile and leads to the first pylon. The alley was created under Ramesses II (XIX Dynasty, New Kingdom). Sphinxes with the body of a lion and the head of a ram. The ram is the sacred animal of the god Amon.
During the reign of Pharaoh Nectanebo I (30th Dynasty, Ptolemaic, Late Period), the three-kilometer road connecting the temples of Luxor and Karnak was decorated with stone sculptures of sphinxes. The part of the alley that began at Karnak consisted of sphinxes with the body of a lion and the head of a ram; from the Luxor temple there was an alley in which the sphinxes had human heads.
The entrance to the temple is called the pylons. Usually giant statues of the pharaoh and gilded obelisks were erected in front of them.
After the pylon, several courtyards followed, replacing each other: a courtyard surrounded by a colonnade around the perimeter - peristyle (peristyle). In the center of the courtyard was a sacrificial stone. 
Next came the hall completely filled with columns - hypostyle (hypostyle).
In Karnak, Pharaoh Ramses II built a giant hypostyle courtyard (hall).
Its S is 5000 m².
Counts approx. 134 columns arranged in 16 rows.
H central - 23 m.
On the capitals of each of them could fit 100 people.
Here, in the semi-darkness, the subjects with special force felt the greatness and incomprehensibility of the divine principle of the pharaoh, who created this temple.
Behind the courtyards-halls, in the depths of the temple, there was a chapel, consisting of several rooms. Its center was a hall, where on a sacrificial stone there was a sacred boat with a statue of the main god - Amon.
The structure of the temple included numerous utility rooms.
Be sure to arrange sacred ponds on the territory of the temple.
Temple in Luxor
Somewhat smaller than Karnak, but harmony and clarity brighten up the "excesses". It is also dedicated to the sun god Amun-Ra. Located on the right bank of the Nile, in the southern part of Thebes, within the modern city of Luxor.
It was connected to Karnak by a paved avenue of sphinxes.
The oldest part - founded under Amenhotep III. Ramesses the Great built the northern peristyle and pylon.
At the northern entrance of the Luxor Temple there are four colossi and two obelisks, one of which was transported in the 1830s. in Paris, Place de la Concorde.
Amenhotep III was one of the greatest builder pharaohs Egypt has ever known. Near the ruins of his mortuary temple, an alley of sphinxes carved from pink Aswan granite was excavated in the last century.
Two of them are now on the University Embankment in St. Petersburg opposite the Academy of Arts.
Luxor. The Ramesseum is a hypostyle hall built by Ramses the Great. The slenderness of the columns with capitals in the form of open panicles and papyrus buds makes an indelible impression.
Luxor. Antique photograph of the pillared hall of Amenhotep III.
Art of the middle of the New Kingdom During the reign of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton)
- Amarna period, first half of the 14th century. BC.Art of the second half of the New Kingdom
2nd floor 14th - early 11th centuries BC.
conclusions
The main features of the art of Ancient Egypt: canonicity, symbolism, geometricity, massiveness, a combination of stylization and naturalism in one image, the stability of traditions, etc.The ancient kingdom - the creation of a single state, art expressed primarily the power of the state and the incomprehensibility of the deified power.
Middle Kingdom - fluctuation of foundations, reassessment of values.
The new kingdom is a period of prosperity, the triumph of Egyptian power.
Immediately after leaving the Department of the Ancient East, you can start viewing the monuments of Egyptian art, which are exhibited separately. Then you need to go through the lower passage or the crypt of Saint-Germain d "Auxerrois, named after the church opposite. Suddenly, a statue of the Egyptian god Osiris appears out of the darkness, illuminated by a ghostly light. Its exposition must be considered exceptionally successful. It is known that Osiris in Ancient Egypt worshiped as the god of the underworld.Therefore, in the gloomy crypt of the Louvre, the masked light creates the illusion of a mysterious glow.Involuntarily, one recalls an ancient legend.
However, if you want to see the Egyptian monuments in chronological order, you need to enter the department from the side of the hall of Aphrodite de Milo. Climbing up a small staircase, you find yourself in front of the tomb of a noble person, the so-called "mastaba" (3rd millennium BC). It consisted of an underground part, where a sarcophagus with a mummy was placed, and an above-ground structure. The ancient Egyptians believed that after death a person continues to lead a life similar to the earth. The tomb was considered his home. They brought food to the deceased, surrounded him with household items, and scenes of everyday life were depicted on the walls of the tomb. And the Louvre mastaba is covered with paintings: here is fishing, and hunting, and navigation, etc. Statues of the dead were usually placed in special niches of the tombs. In interpreting the images, the sculptors followed certain canons consecrated by centuries of tradition. The figures, painted with various ochers, were turned to the front; legs and arms were almost symmetrical.
"But life was stronger than the requirements of religion... - writes the famous Soviet researcher of Egyptian art M. E. Mathieu. - The best sculptors, having managed to partially overcome the traditions, created a number of wonderful works." Among them is the statue of the royal scribe Kai (mid-25th century BC). With his legs crossed, his shoulders squared, and the scroll resting on his knees, Kai sits, ready at any moment to obey the orders of his master. He is not old, but the muscles of his chest and stomach have already weakened. tenacious long fingers used to hold a reed pen and papyrus. The wide-cheeked face is slightly raised, thin lips are pursed, and slightly squinting eyes (they are inlaid with pieces of alabaster and rock crystal) are respectfully fixed on the visitor. This is no longer the image of a scribe in general, but a realistic portrait of a person with his own character and features. The statue of Kai was found in 1850 by the French archaeologist Mariette.
Kai is surrounded in the Louvre by magnificent stone sculptures. Here is one of them. This is a married couple. The woman stands next to her husband and hugs him by the shoulder. Resisting time and decay, the spouses carry their love through the millennia. Such groups were also performed in the tree. In the second floor of the Louvre, for example, you can see a sculpture made of dark wood. The husband walks in front, and behind him, holding his hand, follows the wife, whose figure is much smaller in size. The famous head from the collection of Salt, who was the consul general in Egypt, is exhibited in the same room. By spiciness individual characteristics she is not inferior to the scribe Kaya. Before us is the image of a strong, slightly ascetic man, with sunken cheeks, a large nose and a somewhat elongated head.
All the sculptures we have examined belong to the era of the Old Kingdom (XXXII-XXIV centuries BC), when a powerful slave state arose in the Nile Valley. Along with Mesopotamia, Egypt was the most advanced country in the world of that time. By the end of the III millennium, however, Egypt broke up into separate regions, which led to a crisis in the economy and culture. A new rise of the country was then observed twice: during the period of the Middle Kingdom (XXI-XVII centuries BC) and the New Kingdom (XVI-XII centuries BC).
The masters of the Middle Kingdom initially followed the patterns of antiquity. But the repetition of old forms in new conditions led to their schematization. The revival of art began not in the capital, but in local centers. The collection of works from the Middle Kingdom in the Louvre is inferior to the collection of the Old Kingdom. Of the sculptures of this time, the statuette of a girl (XXI century BC) carrying a vessel with sacrificial libations and a box with gifts is especially memorable. The figurine is made of wood and painted. A thin fabric fits the figure, a necklace flaunts around the neck. Vitality and simplicity are combined with the search for elegance.
The time of the New Kingdom was a period of further rise in Egyptian culture. Grandiose temples are built in Luxor and Karnak, the colossi of Memnon and Ramses are created, amazing paintings of Theban tombs appear. In the city of Tel Amarna, refined and refined art is developing, which left captivating portraits of Nefertiti to posterity. The Louvre has first-class monuments of the era. The bas-relief depicting King Seti I in front of the goddess Hathor is full of tenderness, subtle spirituality. As if returning us to the era of the Old Kingdom, the majestic statue of the vizier Queen Hatshepsut. Several sphinxes, placed one behind the other, give an idea of the sculptural alleys that once led to the palaces. But especially interesting is the small plastic art of the New Kingdom, exhibited on the second floor: a wooden spoon 30 centimeters long, a lovely bluish-blue glass head not exceeding 8 centimeters, a wooden head that once adorned the harp. In all these things, different in purpose and material, the monumentality and laconicism of the pictorial language are striking. Here you really remember the words of the Russian proverb "the spool is small, but expensive." An elongated neck, a protruding chin, large lips, a straight nose, an almond-shaped slit in the eyes, a low sloping forehead, turning into a black, shiny mass of hair, falling to the very neck and, as it were, returning the viewer's gaze back to the starting point of his "journey" across the face of a person , - such a small (20 cm) wooden head Telamarno school. Only the main thing, no details - and what an expressiveness of the image, ascetic, painful and at the same time striving forward! The blue glass head still holds the secrets of the ancient master - how did he manage to combine the bluish skin tone with the intense color of the wig? Is it not from the combination of two tones that the feeling of tenderness of a childishly rounded face, conveyed in the same generalized way as in a multi-meter statue, intensifies? The Egyptians were amazingly able to be majestic even in the smallest!
From the 11th century BC e. Egypt enters a period of decline. In conditions of almost continuous wars, internal strife, agriculture and trade are impoverished. Huge architectural complexes are no longer built, the reliefs repeat the patterns of the New Kingdom, expensive stone is replaced by cheaper bronze. The virtuosic transfer of clothes, jewelry, inlay cannot compensate for the loss of monumentality. Such is the statue of the Libyan queen Karomama (circa 860 BC).
Sculptural portrait of the scribe Kai. As if alive, the scribe Kai sits with his legs tucked in. On his feet he holds an unfolded papyrus scroll and hangs on every word of his master. From the tomb at Saqqara. Painted limestone. 5th dynasty. Middle 3 thousand BC e. Louvre, Paris.
"Rosetta Stone", a basalt slab with texts in Greek and ancient Egyptian, found near Rosette (now Rashid) in Egypt in 1799. It was she who made it possible for the French scientist Jacques-Francois Champollion to begin deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. And now scientists can read inscriptions in tombs and texts on ancient papyri.
The Egyptian people created an artistic culture that captured a harmonious picture of the universe. It is based on religious ideas about the immortality of man. All the artistic values that have come down to us testify that the Egyptians cared little about everyday life, concentrating all their efforts on preparing for life after death. Therefore, Egyptian art is inhabited by images of the underworld, born of religion and mythology.
Egyptian beliefs. The Egyptians worshiped some animals. They considered sacred crocodiles, some birds, for example, a falcon, a vulture, an ibis, as well as cats, jackals, some insects, for example. Dung beetle scarab. In temples dedicated to the gods, services were held in their honor. The rulers generously endowed temples, especially after successful campaigns of conquest. The priests were entitled to a certain part of the spoils of war. The main task the priests were the performance of rituals, they sang hymns during worship - excerpts from the Book of the Dead.
The cult of the dead The cult of the dead - this is how the meaning of the religious beliefs of the Egyptians is usually interpreted. Egyptian myths tell about the creation of the world, the punishment of man for sins, about the struggle of the sun god Ra with the forces of darkness in the form of the serpent Apep, about the death and resurrection of the god Osiris, the patron and judge of dead souls. “I didn't kill. I didn't order the kill. I did no harm to anyone ”- every Egyptian should have known such words in order to pronounce them after death at the court of Osiris. And he had to keep his body in eternity in order to find peace and bliss. This is how the image of mummification and the tradition of keeping mummies in the tomb arose.
Pyramids The Egyptians' ideas about the afterlife are also expressed in architectural images. The symbol of Egyptian architecture was the pyramid - the grandiose tomb of the pharaohs. Deified during their lifetime, the pharaohs prepared their tombs for a long time and carefully. The shape of the pyramid was outlined in ancient times: in the 28th century. BC e. According to the project of the architect Imhotep, the pyramid of Djoser was erected, located on the southern outskirts of Memphis.
Women of Egypt History has brought us the names of two prominent women of Egypt. Queen Hatshepsut (c. 1503 BC) and Queen Nefertiti (c. 1336 BC).
Temples of Egypt The high level of development of architecture is evidenced not only by the pyramids, but also by the temples, the ruins of which have been preserved along the banks of the Nile. The most famous are Karnak and Luxor. It was from the Luxor Temple that the sphinxes, personifying Amenhotep the Third, were taken to Russia and placed on the Universitetskaya embankment in St. Petersburg.
Ruins of the Temple of Amun at Karnak. Mid 16th century BC. The temple at Karnak, the main sanctuary of Amun in Thebes, became a kind of stone chronicle of Egypt, each pharaoh added new premises, sometimes remodeling old ones. The temple consists of more than a hundred spacious rooms, huge courtyards, countless alleys, and passages.
Conclusion. Egypt is one of the oldest states in the world, and its culture is one of the earliest contributions to the history of human culture. Ancient Egyptian culture had a strong influence on European culture. The Egyptian people created an artistic culture that captured a harmonious picture of the universe. It is based on religious ideas about the immortality of man. All the artistic values that have come down to us testify that the Egyptians cared about preparing for life after death. Therefore, Egyptian art is inhabited by images of the underworld, born of religion and mythology.
The most fruitful period of Egyptian art dates back to the 3rd millennium BC. e. With the first two dynasties named tinite(from their capital Thinis), the bureaucratic organization of Egyptian society began to take shape.
In the burial complex Pharaoh Djoser(2680-2660 BC) in Saqqara, with the so-called step pyramid, for the first time the royal tomb clearly stood out from the host of other tombs. The upper structure in it was formed by several stacked one on top of the other mastaba, this typological predecessor of the pyramid (rectangular grave mounds with walls tapering upwards).
IN memphis period(named after the new capital, Memphis), especially during the 4th dynasty (2630-2510 BC), the centralized power of the deified pharaoh was also reflected in art. A typical monument of the era was pyramid with nearby sphinx: the most famous examples are in Giza - these are the pyramids of Cheops, Khafre and Mykerin.
Both in the round sculpture and in the relief, there is an underlined rigor of style. Statues of rulers and nobility are almost always abstract idealizations, not portraits in the true sense of the word. During the period of the 5th and 6th dynasties (2510-2195) a more realistic depiction of people was marked by the appearance of a number of sculptural masterpieces, such as Louvre Scribe And Sheh el Balad, and gave impetus to the design of the internal space of mastabas - the tombs of representatives of the nobility - reliefs with scenes of hunting, fishing, home life, funeral rites.
Fragment of a statue of a nobleman Kai in the guise of a scribe Limestone. Paris, Louvre. The eye socket is copper. Protein - alabaster. Iris - rock crystal. The pupil is a chiseled cone filled with soot.
In the first transitional period (2195-2064), the process of fragmentation of the unified state through the efforts of the local nobility reaches the point of crisis.
Visual art responds to this by abandoning a rigid register compositional scheme in favor of a more individualized and instinctive image of space (the interior decoration of the tombs of Middle Egypt, at Beni Hassan, and near the southern borders, near Aswan).
The whole history of art. Painting, architecture, sculpture, decorative arts / per. with it. T.M. Kotelnikova. - M.: Astrel: 2007.
Scribe Kai
Scribe Cai Louvre
With his legs crossed, his shoulders squared, and the scroll resting on his knees, Kai sits, ready at any moment to obey the orders of his master. He is not old, but the muscles of his chest and stomach have already weakened. Tenacious long fingers are accustomed to holding a reed pen and papyrus.
The wide-cheeked face is slightly raised, thin lips are pursed, and slightly squinting eyes (they are inlaid with pieces of alabaster and rock crystal) are respectfully fixed on the visitor. This is no longer the image of a scribe in general, but a realistic portrait of a person with his own character and features. The statue of Kai was found in 1850 by the French archaeologist Mariette.
Statue of the priest Kaaper or "Sheikh el Balad".
Statue of the priest Kaaper or "Sheikh el Balad".
This wooden statue of the Kaaper priest was found in Saqqara in Kaaper's mastaba by Auguste Mariet in 1860. The workers who found it unanimously exclaimed that the image looked like their village headman. Therefore, she is also known under a different name "Sheikh el Balad" ("Village headman
The statue of Kaaper is made of sycamore. Its height is 112 cm. The Kaapera Mastaba dates back to the reign of Pharaoh Userkaf from the Fifth Dynasty. Wooden statues were common in the Old Kingdom. The material is more malleable than stone, but less durable. Therefore, few wooden statues of that time have survived to our time.
Initially, the statue of the priest was covered with a thin layer of plaster. In some places, its remains are visible. The eyes are made of alabaster, crystal, black stone with a copper rim that imitates eyeliner. The priest is depicted in a traditional pose. Left leg pushed forward in the step position. In one hand he holds a staff, in the other, it is believed that the cylinder was clamped. Kaaper is dressed in a long loincloth.
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Anna Andreevna Akhmatova
1889-1966
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Glorification of the scribes
Wise scribes From the time of the successors of the gods themselves, Predicting the future, Their names will be preserved forever. They left, completing their time, Forgotten all their loved ones. They did not build themselves pyramids of copper and tombstones of bronze. They left no heirs behind them, Children who kept their names. But they left their legacy in the writings, In the teachings they made. Scriptures became their priests, And the writing palette became their son. Their pyramids are books of teachings, Their child is a reed pen, Their consort is the surface of a stone, And great and small are All their children, For the scribe is their head.
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Doors and houses were built, but they collapsed, The priests of the funeral services disappeared, Their monuments were covered with mud, Their tombs are forgotten. But their names are pronounced, reading these books, Written while they lived, And the memory of the one who wrote them is Eternal. Become a scribe, enclose it in your heart, so that your name becomes the same. A book is better than a painted gravestone And a solid wall. What is written in the book builds houses and pyramids in the hearts of those Who repeat the names of the scribes, To have the truth on their lips, A person fades away, his body becomes dust, All his relatives disappear from the earth, But the writings make him remember through the lips of those who pass it on their lips A book is more necessary than a built house, Better than tombs in the West, Better than a sumptuous palace, Better than a monument in a temple.
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Is there anyone like Djedefhor somewhere? Is there anyone like Imhotep? There is no one among us like Nefri And Hetty, the first of all. I will remind you of the name Ptahemdzhhuti And Khakheperra-seneba. Is there anyone like Ptahotep Or Kares? Wise men who predicted the future - It turned out as their lips spoke. It's written in their books, It exists in the form of a saying. Their heirs are the children of different people, As if they were all their own children. They hid their magic from the people, But they are read in instructions. They are gone, Their names have disappeared with them, But the scriptures make Remember them.
