Egyptian Art
Egyptian art shows the Egyptians' viewpoint of the world. They use it to show their understanding of how they fit in the world. They used different symbols to represent various meanings and purposes.
They are also shown with an ankh and a scepter. Sometimes they will have a false beard with a curved tip.
Egyptians thought that all events were governed by their gods. To gain favor of their gods they made rituals and offerings to their various gods. Gods and goddesses were important in Egyptian art found in tombs. They usually showed the gods with spectacular headdresses.
Life after Death
Egyptians believed that the spirit of the dead would continue to live among them. The wall paintings in the tombs showed the dead person how they want to be remembered forever. They usually show them in daily life with their friends, family and servants.
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Colors had symbolic meaning for Egyptians.
Color
Represents
Blue and Green
water, the Nile River or vegetation
Yellow and Gold
sun and the Sun God
Red and Red-orange
desert, power, blood, and vitality
Balance was considered important in Egypt. In their art they used clear outlines with simple shapes. They colored their figures with single shades. They did not show shadows or light in their pictures.
Materials used by Egyptian painters Painting pigments were made from different natural substances. They ground them into powders and mixed them with water. They added vegetable gum to make the paint stick to the walls.
They made paint brushes by taking reeds and chewing them until they were separated. They attached these brushes to the end of a solid reed.
Where did they get the colors?
Color
Source
Red and yellow
ocher
White
gypsum
Black
soot or manganese
Blue
heating a mixture of sand, natron, and a copper compounds.
Green
Adding yellow to the blue frit created above.
Hieroglyphics
Hieroglyphic script was invented about 4000 BC. The Egyptians called them the "words of God". The priests were the main people to use them. The hieroglyphics were used for decorating the walls of the tombs.
Hieroglyphics were written in either rows or columns. They can be read from either right to left or left to right. That would make it hard to read. Actually, you can tell which way to read because the animal or human figures always face forward, towards the beginning of the line.
Hieroglyphics can be divided into four categories.
1. Alphabetic symbols are use to represent a single sound. They did not, however, have symbols for vowels.
2. Syllabic signs can show a combination of 2 or 3 different consonants.
3. Word-signs were pictures representing different objects. They were used for the word of the object. They put an upright line after the picture to show that it was a complete word.
4. A determinative was a picture to help the reader. This was used for abstract concepts.
Here is a picture of what Chinook Wolfpups looks like in hieroglyphic writing.
Test yourself about what you've learned: Egypt Quiz For more information checkout: Egyptian Art Hieroglyphic Writing
