The ancient world
Ancient Egypt
c. 3100–30 BCE
Three thousand years of remarkably consistent art made for temples, tombs and the afterlife.
Overview
Egyptian art served religion and kingship. Sculptors and painters followed strict conventions, such as showing the head and legs in profile with the torso facing forward, because the aim was a complete and permanent record rather than a snapshot of how things looked.
Those conventions held for roughly three thousand years. The one striking break came during the reign of Akhenaten in the fourteenth century BCE, when royal portraits briefly became more naturalistic and informal.
What defines it
- Composite view: head and legs in profile, eye and shoulders from the front
- Scale shows rank, with gods and kings drawn largest
- Durable materials and monumental building meant to last for eternity
Works to know
- Palette of Narmer
- Great Pyramids of Giza
- Bust of Nefertiti
- Funerary mask of Tutankhamun