The art of Ancient Egypt is a collective name for works of painting, sculpture, reliefs, architecture, some decorative crafts created in different periods of Egypt during the era of the pharaohs. Of great interest are the ostracons (or ostraks), clay shards, which served as accessible writing material - ancient Egyptian artists also painted on them.
Conventionally, the art of Ancient Egypt can be divided in accordance with the periods of ancient Egyptian civilization: the art of the Ancient, Middle and New Kingdom. However, despite some stylistic differences between them, there is a continuity, manifested primarily in fidelity to religious traditions.
The sculpture and fine art of Ancient Egypt is extremely stylized, symbolic, focused on the afterlife and idealization of the world of the dead. At the same time, it is characterized, on the one hand, by strict formalization and canonization, on the other hand, by a high degree of realism.
Initially, the art of Ancient Egypt was created for religious and magical purposes. Its symbolism shows the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians and their attempts to understand the world around them. In a religious and social context, works of art played a practical role, this materialism is not easy to understand for the modern viewer. For example, the relief on the walls of the temple, depicting a pharaoh offering gifts to the gods and destroying the enemies of Egypt, expressed the idea that the pharaoh fulfills his main duty - to maintain order in the universe. The Egyptians believed that images only through their existence helped to ensure that everything depicted happened in reality.
The same can be said about sculptural images placed in temples and tombs - they were physical repositories for spirits. With the help of the “opening of the mouth” ceremony, the statues or mummies of ancient Egypt were considered to be living beings, capable of breathing, talking, and accepting offerings. There is evidence that this ritual was performed from the time of the Ancient Kingdom to the Roman period. The fundamental difference between man and the statue was that the statue had eternal life. Therefore, the sculpture was made of durable materials - metal, stone, wood.
The art of Ancient Egypt prescribed strict formalism and complex canons of beauty when depicting gods, kings, people of high social status. They could vary from dynasty to dynasty, depending on the prevailing social structures and power relations. The bearing of a person or god in human guise should be straight. The figure was depicted standing or sitting; a face with an enlarged and widened eye and legs were depicted in profile, the upper body was facing forward, the hips were turned three quarters. In the images, men take a step forward, their hands are clenched. The legs of female figures are on the same level, hands are open. The skin color of men is reddish brown, women - yellow ocher, therefore, much brighter. From the images themselves it is impossible to determine which people are depicted on them. They were identified only by the inscribed name. For this reason, writing was an integral aspect of art. The creation of illustrated characters was in itself a creation.
Realism in Egyptian art prevails in images of nature, plants, animals, as well as objects associated with agricultural and other practical activities (shipping, fishing, hunting).
Particularly abstract or full of allegories are illustrations of scenes from the world of gods, cosmic processes and the afterlife. This iconography is very difficult for an uninitiated viewer to understand, even if there are inscriptions, given the fact that sometimes the picture is hieroglyphic inscriptions. Despite the fact that all the objects and objects depicted are quite specific, in different combinations they acquire a new meaning.
In general, the art of the Ancient World is built largely on symbolism, but if we compare the ancient Greek drawings with the ancient Egyptian ones on the same topics, for example, “Sunrise,” the differences are striking. The Hellenic drawing will most likely depict a chariot drawn by winged horses in which the god Helios takes off into heaven. The rays of his crown (symbolic rays of the sun) gilding the sea waters in which young men frolic, joyfully meeting a new day. If you add an image of another young man or replace them with Nereids, then the meaning of the image does not change. But if you do something similar with the ancient Egyptian pattern and replace one image with another, then other images and symbols will appear.