AP Art History Unit 3

Pre-Dynastic

most known for unification of upper/lower Egypt

3500-2950 BCE

Old Kingdom

most known for pyramids and peace

2575-2150 BCE

Middle Kingdom

most known for renewed prosperity

1975-1640 BCE

New Kingdom

most known for new kingdom/peak

1520-1075 BCE

Amarna Period

most known for the reign of Akhenaton and Nefertiti

most significant changes that occurred was the capital was changed to Amarna, polytheistic religion to monotheistic and naturalistic art

1352-1315 BCE

Idealized

shown as more perfect or flawless than a real person/object actually is

Naturalistic

depicting something as it appears in real life

Sarcophagus

a stone coffin (often decorated with carvings or images)

Pharaoh

the ruler of ancient Egypt

In Situ

the art is still located in the place that it was found (like carcinoma in situ)

Necropolis

a large cemetery or burial area

Clerestory

a high section of a building with windows that lets natural light into the interior

Hypostyle

a hall with a roof supported by many columns

Rock Cut

a structure or space carved directly into natural rock

Androgynous

having both masculine and feminine characteristics so the figure does not clearly appear exclusively male or female

Narmer

early Egyptian pharaoh traditionally credited with uniting Upper and Lower Egypt

Khufu

ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Old Kingdom who commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza

Khafre

ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Old Kingdom, best known for the Pyramid of Khafre and the seated statue of Khafre

Menkaure

ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Old Kingdom who commissioned the smallest of the three main pyramids at Giza

Amun Re

ancient Egyptian god created through the combination of Amun (local god) and Re (Ra) the sun god. He became one of the most important Egyptian deities

Hatshepsut

a female pharaoh of ancient Egypt who ruled during the New Kingdom and often had herself depicted with traditionally male pharaoh attributes

Senmut

a high-ranking official and architect who served under Hatshepsut and helped oversee her building projects

Akhenaton

ancient Egyptian pharaoh who changed Egypt’s religion to focus on Aten, the sun disk, instead of the traditional gods

Nefertiti

queen and wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten

Tutahkhamun

a young Egyptian pharaoh of the New Kingdom who restored Egypt’s traditional religious practices after Akhenaten’s reign

Howard Carter

a British archaeologist who discovered Tutahkhamun’s tomb in 1922

Hu-Nefer

ancient Egyptian royal official and scribe whose tomb included the famous Book of the Dead papyrus showing his journey through the afterlife

Palette of Marner

• L - Hierakonpolis

• E - Predynastic Egypt

• A - unknown

• F - low-relief carved slate

• P - king Narmer

• D - 3000-2920 BCE

• F - thin board used to hold/mix pigments for makeup application

• Content -

  • Front (commemorates king’s power

    • easily subdues an enemy —> crown of upper egypt

    • sandal bearer behind king

    • horus and papyrus plant and enemy head

    • dead enemies in bottom register

  • Back - history and functionality

    • king looks at military success (combo cronw)

    • sandal bearers

    • dead enemies and heads piled up

    • 2 serpopards (serpent and leopards)

    • bull crushing an enemy

  • Both sides

    • Hather/bat - bull goddess

    • Narmers name in hieroglyphics

• Context - buried under floor of a temple/ makeup accessible for all social classes

  • apply makeup to artistic depictions of gods in temples

• Theme - propaganda, historical narrative, military strength, functional objects, power and authority

Seated Scribe

• L - Saqqara, Stepped Pyramid of Djoser

• E - Old Kingdom

• A - unknown

• F - painted limestone (rock crystal)

• P - Pharaoh Djoser

• D - 2620 - 2500 BCE

• F - individualistic and naturalistic portrait of a scribe

• Content - sitting criss-crossed, tranquil eyes (inlaid rock crystal), unusual naturalism, papyrus scroll (writing utensil gone), document success of pharaoh in the afterlife (just as in life), sagging jowls and pectorals (actually shows wealth (no food insecurity and old age))

• Context - found in necropolis, revered for literacy and writing ability (a skill), fortunate to have many ancient Egyptian relics pillaged

• Theme - funerary, the human figure

Great Pyramids and Sphinx

• L - Giza, Egypt

• E - Old Kingdom

• A - unknown

• F - cut limestone (gold capstone)

• P - Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure

• D - 2551 - 2472 BCE

• F - tombs and palaces for the afterlife

• Content

  • Khufu - oldest, largest, complex interior, huge adjacent cemeteries, boat pits, large burial for queen

  • Khafre - built on a plateform, simpler interior, connected to sphinx via causeway

  • Menkaure - smallest, entirely subterranean interior, queen burials nearby

  • Near perfect leveling, took 2000+ workers a day, gold capstone

• Context - suffered grave robbery not long after the burial, all the mummies are lost

• Themes - propaganda, monumental, architecture, funerary

Menkaure and Wife

• L - Pyramid of Menkaure

• E - Old Kingdom

• A - unknown

• F - high-relief carved greywacke

• P - King Menkaure

• D - 2490 - 2472 BCE

• F - idealized double portrait of a pharaoh and queen Khamerernebty

• Content - life size, one foot forward striding toward afterlife, idealized, Menkaure (clenches fists with ritual clothes, false beard and nemes headdress, no obvious hierarchy, king stands further foward) wife (arm supports/presents to gods, maybe a goddess…Hathor, connects to queens and mothers of future kings)

• Context - part of memorial structure, no extremities, cant break/destroy easily, unpolished, no inscription, no traditional cobra on headdress, Menkaure-son of Khafre

• Themes - funerary, the human figure, power and authority, propaganda

Temple of Amun Re

• L - Karnak, Egypt

• E - Middle —> New Kingdom

• A - unknown

• F - sandstone and mudbrick

• P - many pharaohs

• D - 1550-1250 BCE

• F - at it’s time, the largest religious site in ancient Egypt and center of power/wealth

• Content - hypostyle hall (a building with a roof that is supported by many rows of interior columns), patchwork of artisitic styles and royal names from years of additions, axis plan aligned with cardinal points

• Context - Main religious center for Amun-Re (and other gods), community of religious workers lived and maintained the temple, construction for 300+ years, one of the 1st artificial lakes, Hatshesput added a chapel for Amun-Re and an obelisk, Thutmose III expanded complex with phylons/courtyards, Ramses II added monumental statues and Great Hypostyle Hall

• Theme - pilgrimage site, cosmic connection, monumental architecture, religious spaces

Axial Plan

architecture aligned to the cardinal points

Pylon

massive stone structures that flanked the doors to temples

Clerestory

raising a structures ceiling to allow for nature light to enter creating a heavenly/godly ambiance

Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

• L - Dier el-Bahari, Luxor

• E - New Kingdom

• A - Senmut

• F - Rock-cut limestone

• P - Queen Hatshepsut

• D - 1473 - 1458 BCE

• F - funerary temple

• Content - mountains are immovable (like the pharaoh’s reign), aligns to december solstice sun, terraces (goods traded with foreign lands), dark colored interior balance bright terraces (like mountain color tones), Queen depicted masculine(for continuity and stability)

• Context - funerary shrine NOT a tomb, temple helps through the afterlife journey, communicates power and plety, even as this is a non-traditional female ruler, many traditional stylistic aspects kept the same

• Themes - propaganda, monumental architecture, religious spaces

Chamfered Column

rectangular column (looks like a kit-kat)

Colonnade

row of columns

Punt

foreign lands that traded with Egypt who imported gold, ebony ivory, resins and myrrh trees

Akhenaten, Nefertiti and 3 Daughters

• L - Amarna (New Capital City)

• E - Amarna Period

• A - Unknown

• F - low-relief carved limestone

• P - Pharaoh Akhenaten

• D - 1353-1335 BCE

• F - Unique domestic family portrait

• Content - private life of royal family RARE (Pharaoh and Queen on thrones, daughters on their laps), Monotheistic god (Aten (sun disc center) Ankhs (everlasting life reaching down))

• Context - home alter, practical & artistic function, reflective of the Armana period changes (priest power now entirely with royalty)

• Themes - divine rule, propaganda, daily life

Ankh

symbol for life

Tutankhamun’s Tomb and Innermost Coffin

• L - Valley of the Kings Luxor, Egypt

• E - New Kingdom

• A - Unknown

• F - wood, gold, enamel, semi-precious stones

• P - King Tut

• D - 1333 - 1323 BCE

• F - burial tomb and sarcophagus

• Content -

  • 3 nesting sarcophagi

    • 2 outer - wood-covered gold

    • 1 inner - solid gold

  • Death mask - pure gold

    • Book of the Dead’s spell 151b on back

      • afterlife road map and protect limbs

    • Nemes headdress and false beard kingship

      • Vulture - Nekhbet

      • Cobra - Wadjet

      • Both protect

    • Wings of Horus, protect the pharaoh

• Context - Discoverd by Howard Carter in 1922, Elaborate burial for kings and wealthy, others were just mummified, pharaoh at 9, akhenaton’s son (back polytheism, capital back to thebes, stylized and rigid art), mysteriously died at 18

• Themes - funerary, historical narrative, propaganda, functional objects

Last Judgement of Hu-Nefer

• L - Luxor, Egypt - Tomb of Hu-Nefer

• E - New Kingdom

• A - Unknown

• F - painted papyrus scroll

• P - Hu-Nefer

• D - 1290 - 1280 BCE

• F - record of journey to the afterlife

• Content - traditional/formal style, rigid alignment, afterlife journey (proves ethical living and entry), Anubis - guides deceased (heart weighed against Maat’s feather (symbol of good deeds) (Ammit devours heart if too heavy with bad deeds) (Osiris greets deceased))

• Context - Book of Dead = spells/prayers to aid those in the afterlife, originally texts only for kings later for wealthy/priestly status, Hu-Nefer - priestly status, buried with him