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I have been doing research on Egyptian art conventions using the search bar on the site. Past discussion has been useful in deconstructing colour symbolism present among the wall art and frescos, however, I've never seen a thread dedicated towards deconstructing which dynastic periods display naturalistic art and which ones are heavily stylized. I personally think this is very important as I still often see the argument being thrown around that all Egyptian art was purely symbolic and heavily stylized.
So I have decided to address this problem and make a thread dedicated towards this topic. I'm only going to cover the dynasties leading up to the end of Nectanbo II's reign.
Middle kingdom (11-13th dynasties)
Generally the middle kingdom is accepted as heralding naturalistic/realistic art in Kemet. This is not only shown through the wooden tomb models
but also through busts and statues of nobility. A good example being Mentuhotep II's bust, which have clear consistency in his facial features.
I feel like the naturalistic style of this period peaks at the 12th dynasty. This is supported when we see depictions of Senusret III
it's undeniable that the art in this period was intended to depict the rulers at the time given how realistic, consistent and detailed the depictions are.
New kingdom (18th dynasty) After kicking out a bunch of rude guests Ahmose I ushers in the 18th dynasty and the new kingdom period as a whole. I understand why this is a very controversial period to place in this thread, given how odd and abstract Akenaten's depictions look like.
If we ignore him and look at the Art from Amenhotep III's time to Horemheb's time we see art that's naturalistic as seen below.
It's worth mentioning thanks to a talented sculptor known as Tutmose. Not only are his works detailed enough to give roman art a run for it's money, it's also consistent, supporting that he set out to realistically depict the people at the time.
It worth nothing that in the Armana period women are portrayed a lot more realistically, and have the same skin tone as the males. This seems to continue onwards in the later dynasties
It seems that 19th dynasty and onwards we see a return to old kingdom artstyle where depictions are less realistic and a lot more stylized.
But I will mention the book of gates which seems to realistically portray the Kemites and fellow nations, as they navigate through the afterlife.
Well, what do you guys make of this? I'd love to see any periods or specific artworks that I may have missed.
Posts: 79 | From: Canada | Registered: Nov 2022
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I personally think that Egyptian portraits were realistic in all eras. As far as conventions go, the New Kingdom is when you see exceptions to the rule of "yellow women" where women are painted in the same mahogany complexion as men. The Amarna period is unique in with the elongated style of portraits i.e. elongated head, faces, limbs, etc.
-------------------- Mahirap gisingin ang nagtutulog-tulugan. Posts: 26252 | From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Registered: Feb 2005
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I personally think that Egyptian portraits were realistic in all eras. As far as conventions go, the New Kingdom is when you see exceptions to the rule of "yellow women" where women are painted in the same mahogany complexion as men. The Amarna period is unique in with the elongated style of portraits i.e. elongated head, faces, limbs, etc.
I was tempted to include it, but I decided not to as my sources stated that the period features stylized art, as opposed to naturalistic ones. Look at the statue of Hemiunu as an example.
Posts: 79 | From: Canada | Registered: Nov 2022
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