Proportion and Style in Ancient Egyptian Art


Book Description

This study of ancient Egyptian art reveals the evolution of aesthetic approaches to proportion and style through the ages. The painted and relief-cut walls of ancient Egyptian tombs and temples record an amazing continuity of customs and beliefs over nearly 3,000 years. Even the artistic style of the scenes seems unchanging, but this appearance is deceptive. In this work, Gay Robins offers convincing evidence, based on a study of Egyptian usage of grid systems and proportions, that innovation and stylistic variation played a significant role in ancient Egyptian art. Robins thoroughly explores the squared grid systems used by the ancient artists to proportion standing, sitting, and kneeling human figures. This investigation yields the first chronological account of proportional variations in male and female figures from the Early Dynastic to the Ptolemaic periods. Robins discusses the proportional changes underlying the revolutionary style instituted during the Amarna Period. She also considers how the grid system influenced the overall composition of scenes. Numerous line drawings with superimposed grids illustrate the text.













Human Proportions for Artists


Book Description

Human Proportions for Artists is a profusely illustrated reference book. It is intended for colege level students and serious artists. Avard Fairbanks made a proportion study of more than 100 measurements on each of 25 male and female adults. Detailed drawings were made illustrating these dimensions, including front and lateral fine features of the faces. Anatomical and anthropometric features are included and explained. These measurements are tabulated in life size and in different ratios from heroic, 3/2, to 1/12th life size in twelve columns. A presentation of relative proportions, using Leonardo da Vince's system, is included. This book is intended as an assistance for creating fine realistic and representational art, includ-portraits, from monumental to miniature sizes.




Art of Ancient Egypt


Book Description

"[A] comprehensive resource, which contains texts, posters, slides, and other materials about outstanding works of Egyptian art from the Museum's collection"--Welcome (preliminary page).




Canons and Values


Book Description

A critical rethinking of the way canons are defined, constructed, dismantled, and revised. A century ago, all art was evaluated through the lens of European classicism and its tradition. This volume explores and questions the foundations of the European canon, offers a critical rethinking of ancient and classical art, and interrogates the canons of cultures and regions that have often been left at the margins of art history. It underscores the historical and geographical diversity of canons and the local values underlying them. Twelve international scholars consider how canons are constructed and contested, focusing on the relationship between canonical objects and the value systems that shape their hierarchies. Deploying an array of methodologies—including archaeological investigations, visual analysis, and literary critique—the authors examine canon formation throughout the world, including Africa, India, East Asia, Mesoamerica, South America, ancient Egypt, classical Greece, and Europe. Global studies of art, which are dismantling the traditionally Eurocentric canon, promise to make art history more inclusive. But enduring canons cannot be dismissed. This volume raises new questions about the importance of canons—including those from outside Europe—for the wider discipline of art history.




A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art


Book Description

A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art presents a comprehensive collection of original essays exploring key concepts, critical discourses, and theories that shape the discipline of ancient Egyptian art. • Winner of the 2016 PROSE Award for Single Volume Reference in the Humanities & Social Sciences • Features contributions from top scholars in their respective fields of expertise relating to ancient Egyptian art • Provides overviews of past and present scholarship and suggests new avenues to stimulate debate and allow for critical readings of individual art works • Explores themes and topics such as methodological approaches, transmission of Egyptian art and its connections with other cultures, ancient reception, technology and interpretation, • Provides a comprehensive synthesis on a discipline that has diversified to the extent that it now incorporates subjects ranging from gender theory to ‘X-ray fluorescence’ and ‘image-based interpretations systems’




The Art of the Hekatompedon Inscription and the Birth of the Stoikhedon Style


Book Description

Recognizing the traditional place held by the "Hekatompedon Inscription" (IG I3 4) in classical studies, this book presents evidence for the meaning of the inscription that comes from its facture, leading to the question of the origin of the stoikhedon style and of Egypt's role in that emergence.




Historical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt


Book Description

Historical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, Third Edition covers the whole range of the history of ancient Egypt from the Prehistoric Period until the end of Roman rule in Egypt based on the latest information provided by academic scholars and archaeologists. This is done through a revised introduction on the history of ancient Egypt, the dictionary section has over 1,000 dictionary entries on historical figures, geographical locations, important institutions and other facets of ancient Egyptian civilization. This is followed by two appendices one of which is a chronological table of Egyptian rulers and governors and the other a list of all known museums which contain ancient Egyptian objects. The volume ends with a detailed bibliography of Egyptian historical periods, archaeological sites, general topics such as pyramids, languages and arts and crafts and the publications of Egyptian material in museums throughout the world.