Egyptian Wall Art Activity

Every example of Egyptian art from any time period strictly adheres to the same style. There is a code, or a set of rules for producing the artwork. The style is called “frontalism.”

In reliefs or paintings, frontalism means that the head of the character is always drawn in profile, while the body is seen from the front. Although the face is to the side, the eye is drawn in full. The legs are turned to the same side as the head, with one foot placed in front of the other. The head is at right angles to the body. Every figure, in paintings or sculptures, stands or sits with a formal, stiff, and rigid posture. The stance of the body is severe, but the faces are calm and serene, and almost always tilted slightly towards the sky, as if the figures were basking in the warm sun.

It is truly remarkable that in thousands of years, this was the one and only style. There are slightly different "rules" for the drawing of animals and slaves from the way pharaohs and gods and portrayed.

Rules for Egyptian Wall Painting

In Egyptian art, the translation of information was more important than realism. In creating Egyptian wall art, several rules must be followed.

Rule	Description
Rule 1: Profile	· Head in profile · Side view of eye and eyebrow · Eye never looks straight ahead
Rule 2: Colour	· Men painted in red ochre · Women painted in yellow ochre
Rule 3: Stance	· Hips have a three-quarter turn · Chest and shoulders shown at their full width · Both feet, legs, arms and hands must be shown
Rule 4: Scale	· Size of figures reflects social status · Men are larger than women of equal status · Wives and children often in crouching position, with arms around the calves of the father
Rule 5: Proportions	· Hands and feet are often large compared to the rest of the body

Egyptian Hieroglypics

Egyptian History:
Hieroglyphics (skhai en neter tur - writing of sacred words) are composed of signs representing objects of the physical world; these were always sculptured or painted and the linear generally used on the earlier papyri containing funeral rituals. There are four classes being:
1. Representational or ikonographic
2. Symbolic or tropical
3. Enigmatic
4. Phonetic

Discoveries have traced the "sculptured letters and alphabetical signs" [of the Ancient Egyptians] to periods prior to the existence of Abraham and Moses. Additionally, writings from Herodotus, Plato, Tactitus, Plutarch and others, indicate that many historians believed that Egypt had invented the method of alphabetical writing.

After Egypt was absorbed into the Roman Empire since 30 B.C., a large volume of immigrants of Greeks and Romans came into the country. Since they were largely unable to grasp the intricacies of Egyptian scripts, they adopted a written version of the Egyptian language now referred to as Coptic (transcribed into the Greek alphabet with seven extra letters to express sounds not found in Greek).

Father Athanasius Kircher was the first European scholar to identify Coptic as the last popular language of the Egyptians in 1643 A.D. Jean-Francois Champollion, was one of his students, eventually deciphered the Egyptian hieroglyphic.

How to Read Hieroglyphics

The hieroglyphs could be read either starting at the left or the right. In order to determine the direction to begin reading is to look for a human or animal symbol. The symbol will always face in the direction that the reading should start at. Reading is always done from top to bottom (such as with columns).

Pictured below is an ancient relief of how the Ancient Egyptians recorded moving a massive statue.

The Funerary Scene

Of all the images associated with ancient Egypt, the funerary scene is probably the one that is most frequently duplicated in books and art prints. This scene depicts what occurs after a person has died. Beginning with the upper left-hand corner, the deceased appears before a panel of 14 judges to make an accounting for his deeds during life. The ankh, the key of life, appears in the hands of some of the judges.

Next, below, the jackal god Anubis who represents the underworld and mummification leads the deceased before the scale. In his hand, Anubis holds the ankh.

Anubis then weighs the heart of the deceased (left tray) against the feather of Ma'at, goddess of truth and justice (right tray). In some drawings, the full goddess Ma'at, not just her feather, is shown seated on the tray. Note that Ma'at's head, crowned by the feather, also appears atop the fulcrum of the scale. If the heart of the deceased outweighs the feather, then the deceased has a heart which has been made heavy with evil deeds. In that event, Ammit the god with the crocodile head and hippopotamous legs will devour the heart, condemning the deceased to oblivion for eternity. But if the feather outweighs the heart, then the deceased has led a righteous life and may be presented before Osiris to join the afterlife. Thoth, the ibis-headed god of wisdom stands at the ready to record the outcome.

The deceased is then led to Osiris by Horus, the god with the falcon head. Note the ankh in Horus' hand. Horus represents the personification of the Pharaoh during life, and his father Osiris represents the personification of the Pharaoh after death.

Osiris, lord of the underworld, sits on his throne, represented as a mummy. On his head is the white crown of Lower Egypt (the north). He holds the symbols of Egyptian kingship in his hands: the shepherd's crook to symbolize his role as shepherd of mankind, and the flail, to represent his ability to separate the wheat from the chaff. Behind him stand his wife Isis and her sister Nephthys. Isis is the one in red, and Nephthys is the one in green. Together, Osiris, Isis, and Nephthys welcome the deceased to the underworld.

Egyptian Art Activity

1) Each student will create his / her own personalized ‘wall art’
The art can depict his or her own life (family, interests, beliefs etc.) as if they were living in Ancient Egypt OR can tell a story OR act as a record

2) Criteria:

o Size: 8.5 x 11 paper

o Follows all tenets of Egyptian art, hieroglyphics, frontalism, colours

o Central Theme: family, interests, beliefs, occupation, trades etc.

o Authentic look

o Any arts / crafts / material can be used

o Neat link: website generates your personal name in hieroglyphics: http://www.upennmuseum.com/hieroglyphsreal.cgi/

Rubric: Egyptian Wall Art Activity

	Level 4	Level 3	Level 2	Level 1
Knowledge: Content / Accuracy	All elements of artwork adheres to all tenets and rules of Egyptian art	Most elements of artwork follows tenets and rules of Egyptian art	Some elements of artwork adheres to tenets and rules of Egyptian art	Elements of art do not reflect tenets and rules of Egyptian art
Application: Theme	Central theme is very relevant and explicitly depicts art of ancient Egypt	Central theme is relevant and generally depicts art of ancient Egypt	Theme is somewhat relevant and related to the art of Ancient Egypt	Theme is weak and poorly related
Application / Communication: Creativity	Art medium and final product is very clear, organized and creative	Art medium and final product is clear and creative	Art medium and final product is somewhat clear and creative	Art medium and final product is weak and lacks creativity

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