I group together a few different Ancient Egyptian images into a lesson I call: The Human Figure in Ancient Egypt. I focus on the “ideal” in Ancient Egyptian art and how close (or far) some of these pieces follow the Egyptian Canon. The pieces in this lesson are:
- #15. Seated scribe. Saqqara, Egypt. Old Kingdom, Fourth Dynasty. c. 2620–2500 BCE. Painted limestone.
- #18. King Menkaura and queen. Old Kingdom, Fourth Dynasty. c. 2490–2472 BCE. Greywacke.
- #21. Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut. Near Luxor, Egypt. New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty. c. 1473–1458 BCE. Sandstone, partially carved into a rock cliff, and red granite. (just the kneeling statue)
- #22. Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and three daughters. New Kingdom (Amarna), 18th Dynasty. c. 1353–1335 BCE. Limestone.
To introduce the Egyptian canon I show this video clip from How Art Made the World and then review it with a sketch showing the human form on a grid. Each student is then assigned one of the four images above to focus on. I give each student textbook sections and these modified articles I made. They complete their section of the chart as they are reading and then share with their group mates (I prefer timing my students when they do a jigsaw so nobody drags on taking all the talking time).
Homework: on the back of the chart I have four open-ended questions for them to complete.
Grading Hack: I ONLY look at the back four questions; if they got those, they got the front correct. If you want to review the front, the Y/N for if the pieces conform or do not conform to the Egyptian canon is a dead giveaway.
Does this piece conform to the Egyptian Canon?
Seated Scribe: Certainly a NO for this answer. The Egyptian canon emphasizes idealized beauty, masculinity for males, perpetual youth, stiff musculature, lack of personality or flaws, upright pose, etc. The Seated Scribe, with his pudgy features, thin wrinkles, and relaxed pose, certainly does not fit the bill.
King Menkaure and queen & Kneeling statue of Hatshepsut: Yes and Yes! Both figures are idealized, geometric yet realistic human figures with no emotion or imperfections shown.
Akhenaten and Nefertiti with three daughters: Not even close! Many of my students describe these figures as “alien” because of their pudgy bellies, elongated limbs and stretched out skulls. They are humanoid but extremely stylized.
Describe the Form of the art piece.
Students are expected to look at the color images provided to describe simply what the looks like (this deep looking provides the framework to answer the other questions).
Read more: Lesson Plan: Egyptian Gods in Humanities
Why does this piece look the way it does?
Seated Scribe: The Seated Scribe is not a pharaoh, not even royalty (although part of the literate upper class), so he is not expected to be as “perfect” as the god-kings of Ancient Egypt. However, he showcases his literate status because he is in the act of writing.
King Menkaure and queen: This is an image of a pharaoh and (believed to be) his wife so therefore they need to express the ideals of ruler-ship: stability, permanence, controlled actions and emotions, and the ability to bear the weight of ruler-ship. Also the statue of King Menkaure was made during the Old Kingdom, the height of the Egyptian Empire and a period of strong pharaohs (I mean they built the pyramids for goodness sake!).
Kneeling statue of Hatshepsut: Hatshepsut was a woman who was trying to establish her rule in the shadow of strong male leaders. Therefore it makes perfect sense that her art would look like theirs; she even went so far as to suppress her womanly shape (reduced breasts, added a false beard, little hips) to further support this image.
Akhenaten and Nefertiti with three daughters: Although Akhenaten was pharaoh like Menkaure and Hatshepsut, his historical context is what sets him apart. Akhenaten temporarily abandoned the pantheon of Egyptian gods to elevated the sun-disk Aten. This major religious changed was also political: the priests were no longer needed because all communication with the god(s) solely went through Akhenaten. Whenever there is a massive cultural shift, art transforms with it. Gone is the masculine and ridged forms of the past, say hello to curvy “soft” bodies.
JMF
