Ancient Egyptian Art - Essay Example

Name: Instructor: Date of Submission: Ancient Egyptian Art I have never experienced an art as intriguing as the art that characterized Egyptian civilization. This civilization spanned from 3000BC to 500 BC. Along the entire period, the civilization of Egypt was not static, but rather kept developing. This is a feature about Egyptian civilization art that most people have not been noting but which I realized as a long standing expert in Art history (Romer & John 16). However, the changes do not mark a break from arts of earlier times. I could sense continuity in the art styles used and techniques are consistent. This, I suspect, could be explained by the existence of record keeping which later artistes referred to in coming up with their arts. Egyptian Pyramids The pyramids of Egypt marked the most phenomenal art form of this civilization. Readings about Egyptian architecture informed me that pyramids were advanced forms of earlier “mastabas”. They were kinds of tombs that were rock-carved and on top of which, rectangular structures covered. However, “mastabas” had flat roofs. The earliest known pyramid was constructed in 2630B.C. This was for king Djoser of the third dynasty in Egypt (O'Neill & John 45) . I have encountered manuscripts that explain its designation. It started as a kind of ‘mastaba’ but developed its complexity in the course of building it. It was interesting to realize that the actual architect behind this pioneer pyramid at Saqqara Egypt was a priest called Imhotep. This architect was later, due to his skill, made a deity as a saint over all physicians and scribes in Egypt. When it was build, it became a skyscraper for it was the tallest. Descriptions of it say it was made up of layers of stone that assembled to 204 feet above the ground (Romer & John 11). The name of the pyramid is ‘Step Pyramid’. Courtyards, Shrines and castles composed its vicinity by surrounding this pyramid. The construction of such enormous buildings was inspired by the high regard given to Pharaohs upon their death. The perception people held of him was that he was divine and next to a god. When he died, they held a belief that he transfigured into Osiris. This was the name of god of the dead. They therefore did everything within their power and skill to maintain the kings’ majesty upheld even at death. Pyramids were the highest respect ever paid to a human being in history. The pyramids of Giza are the most magnificent of any other of this kind of ancient Egyptian art (O'Neill & John 66). They were constructed on a Nile River plateau, which is located near Cairo of this day. This was a great spectacle that my mind could have ever fathomed by the description there is about it. Three in number, the great pyramids of Giza received the historical celebration more than other. However, only one survives today which was the oldest and the largest of the three. This one was for Khufu who was forth dynasty’s second king of eight. It is the largest pyramid in the world based on its measurements. With a base of 755.5 feet and height of 481.4 feet average height, no other pyramid has outmatched it. Such spectacular phenomena as pyramids form a good world heritage. They make my time travel an adventure full of nostalgia. It fascinates me that as far back in time as then, humans could conceive measurements in their minds and transfer them to the ground to produce magnificent works of this magnitude. This is a representation of the Great Giza Pyramids along the banks of R, Nile. It is an example of the Egyptian civilization retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/the-egyptian-pyramids Islamic Civilization As an art historian, I have been stopping short of ascribing modern civilization in art to Muslims in Arabia. “Arabasque” is a word that has been employed by scholars in ancient art to refer to Arabic or Muslim art. Just as in science, art as we know it today had great Arabic influences more than western influence as many people mistake. The Great Mosques The Arabic Muslims were the first instructors of just what architecture should entail. This was demonstrated by the construction of mosques, which spread throughout the Muslim peninsula. They were of great architectural and art significance especially in respect to designing (Bergdoll, Barry, and Leah 56). This to me is an intellectual; form of design if I have to go back to the time. Notable scenic mosques include Haram mosque of Mecca, Cordoba mosque in Spain, Blue mosque-Istanbul, and the Tunisian Quairawan mosque. These are just but a few historically outstanding ones. The Arabic buildings followed the architect employed in the construction of mosques. They had unique geometrical designs that exude rare beauty. The painting by use of blue or vegetative color was full of glamour. A mosque is usually structurally domed. Perhaps I need to find out why no mosque departs from this designation. In the mosque, Muslims pray and chant songs of worship to their creator five times in 24 hours. Muslims have a strong attachment with the mosque as though carrying significance similar to that of a totem. In prayer, they face Mecca. This fact is also made part of the mosque design by indicating its direction on the wall. The indication of the direction of Mecca is by ‘mihrab’ which is a colorful niche decoratively plastered on the wall. Muslims are associated with a lot of purity before prayer; a place is set for them to perform cleansing rituals in order to prepare for service. The floor is normally carpeted and foot wares are usually left out. The importance of the mosque to Muslims has the best expression in the words of the prophet that; “a mosque has to be a garden of paradise”( Roose &Erick 67). The mosques have had many Islamic architects; one of the most regarded is Sinan. He lived in the 16th century and heralded from the former ottoman Turkey. The Istanbul mosque located at Sulaimaniye is one of his works. Most of his buildings embody and exude Islamic splendor. Some of the designs are from the earlier architecture of Rome and Greece. However, the Muslims take it up and implement them in their work more ambitiously attaching more attitudes to it. An example of this is how they took the carving of wood what the Muslims term as ‘masharabiyah’. This was more conspicuous in Cairo’s mosque of Ibn Tulun. They demonstrate that wood is of great decorative value if the carving suits the design of a building (Roose and Erick 91). The architecture was later passed on to the west through the Islamic conquest and still finds relevance today with minimal change. An example of a form of architecture that followed the Arabic design is the popular Alhambra palace. It was built in 1230B.C and is located in Granada, Spain. Mosques influenced other forms of art including painting, calligraphy, mosaic and painting. However, the development of musical art and instruments for the purpose of use in the mosques depict the overriding significance of Islamic art in the time travel studies of art history. The Mosque of Istanbul constructed in 1230 B.C during the Islamic civilization http://www.beautifulmosque.com/sultan-ahmed-mosque-in-istanbul-turkey/ 20th Century Art The art of the 20th century is also referred to as modern art. This was marked by evident efforts to harmonize the traditional art designs with the developments in technology that were ever increasing at the time. The developments in architecture at the time were still reminiscent of the designs of previous times. Architectural modernism took pace after the end of the Second World War that was expressed in various works. Bauhaus This was one of the works that marked the 20th century architecture. It was meant to bring to birth a new form of modern art which brought together different forms of art into one great work. In my exploration of art, this one featured a massive work of art that has become phenomenal in spawning architectural movements of the 20th century. It combined fine art and crafts. Walter Gropius as a “house of construction” first established the Bauhaus. This art was a depiction of the experimentation that rocked the post-world war II Germany (Bergdoll, Barry, and Leah 56). My knowledge of architectural design is limited , however, it makes me judge Bauhaus as the roadmap that set pace for German modernism. The roots of Bauhaus as a modernist work, is the extension of the conservatism which placed a lot of focus on functionality of art and design together with simplicity. This also emphasized the stamping of individuality on what enormous productions of architecture in mass (Bergdoll, Barry, and Leah 56). The Bauhaus formed a reconstruction foundation of Germany after it had suffered the devastations of war. This art at a glance strikes me as different and new if analyzed exclusively in isolation, but as an advancement of neo-classical architecture in relative perception with previous architectural times. In Germany accordingly, the modernism movement in architecture was termed as Neues Bauen entirely. However, there was to be an almost radical change in architecture from wishful experimentation as started by Bauhaus to objectivity. Building was geared for a turn away from mere imagination to a real intellectual subject of innovation. This is what another architect took from Bauhaus. Peter Behrens pioneered an industrial design which made construction products by combining graphics and craft. Here, I notice a continual fading away of the former expressions of emotions as the only functional use of art. Rationality and logic started infusing into art and what would follow is the development of standardized building (Hochman & Elaine 103). The shockwaves of Bauhaus went beyond the Germany borders affecting architectural designs of the entire Western Europe, Canada and USA. Many technical institutions started following after the trail set by Bauhaus in their curriculum. By becoming experts in the designs of Bauhaus, it became renowned architects of the world enjoying sponsorship from the great. An example is Mies Van Der Rohe who under the patronage of an all famous Philip Johnson, contracted many works basing on Bauhaus (Bergdoll, Barry, and Leah 56). As earlier mentioned, Bauhaus represents how thought can find effective practicability and send the world spinning. My concept of Bauhaus is that of an influential idea that will perpetuate itself with modifications throughout the existence of art. My postulation that art is natural and given to humanity as hunger or breath has a lot of justifications in the dynamics of art over time. Learning about architectural designs of the modern era and how they have been handed down into post-modernism is testimony to that fact. An example of Bauhauss architecture of Walter Gropius retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus it serves as an example of modern architecture of the 20th century. Work Cited I) Bergdoll, Barry, and Leah Dickerman. Bauhaus 1919-1933: Workshops for Modernity. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2009. II) Roose, Eric. The Architectural Representation of Islam: Muslim-commissioned Mosque Design in the Netherlands. Leiden: ISIM, 2009. III) O'Neill, John P. Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids: [in Conjunction with the Exhibition "egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids" ... Held at the Galeries Nationales Du Grand Palais, Paris, from April 6 to July 12, 1999, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, from September 16, 1999, to January 9, 2000, and the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, from February 13 to May 22, 2000]. New York: Abrams, 1999. IV) Hochman, Elaine S. Bauhaus: Crucible of Modernism. New York,NY: Fromm, 1997. V) Romer, John. The Great Pyramid: Ancient Egypt Revisited. Cambridge [u.a.: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2007. Read More

Such spectacular phenomena as pyramids form a good world heritage. They make my time travel an adventure full of nostalgia. It fascinates me that as far back in time as then, humans could conceive measurements in their minds and transfer them to the ground to produce magnificent works of this magnitude. This is a representation of the Great Giza Pyramids along the banks of R, Nile. It is an example of the Egyptian civilization retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/the-egyptian-pyramids Islamic Civilization As an art historian, I have been stopping short of ascribing modern civilization in art to Muslims in Arabia.

“Arabasque” is a word that has been employed by scholars in ancient art to refer to Arabic or Muslim art. Just as in science, art as we know it today had great Arabic influences more than western influence as many people mistake. The Great Mosques The Arabic Muslims were the first instructors of just what architecture should entail. This was demonstrated by the construction of mosques, which spread throughout the Muslim peninsula. They were of great architectural and art significance especially in respect to designing (Bergdoll, Barry, and Leah 56).

This to me is an intellectual; form of design if I have to go back to the time. Notable scenic mosques include Haram mosque of Mecca, Cordoba mosque in Spain, Blue mosque-Istanbul, and the Tunisian Quairawan mosque. These are just but a few historically outstanding ones. The Arabic buildings followed the architect employed in the construction of mosques. They had unique geometrical designs that exude rare beauty. The painting by use of blue or vegetative color was full of glamour. A mosque is usually structurally domed.

Perhaps I need to find out why no mosque departs from this designation. In the mosque, Muslims pray and chant songs of worship to their creator five times in 24 hours. Muslims have a strong attachment with the mosque as though carrying significance similar to that of a totem. In prayer, they face Mecca. This fact is also made part of the mosque design by indicating its direction on the wall. The indication of the direction of Mecca is by ‘mihrab’ which is a colorful niche decoratively plastered on the wall.

Muslims are associated with a lot of purity before prayer; a place is set for them to perform cleansing rituals in order to prepare for service. The floor is normally carpeted and foot wares are usually left out. The importance of the mosque to Muslims has the best expression in the words of the prophet that; “a mosque has to be a garden of paradise”( Roose &Erick 67). The mosques have had many Islamic architects; one of the most regarded is Sinan. He lived in the 16th century and heralded from the former ottoman Turkey.

The Istanbul mosque located at Sulaimaniye is one of his works. Most of his buildings embody and exude Islamic splendor. Some of the designs are from the earlier architecture of Rome and Greece. However, the Muslims take it up and implement them in their work more ambitiously attaching more attitudes to it. An example of this is how they took the carving of wood what the Muslims term as ‘masharabiyah’. This was more conspicuous in Cairo’s mosque of Ibn Tulun. They demonstrate that wood is of great decorative value if the carving suits the design of a building (Roose and Erick 91).

The architecture was later passed on to the west through the Islamic conquest and still finds relevance today with minimal change. An example of a form of architecture that followed the Arabic design is the popular Alhambra palace. It was built in 1230B.C and is located in Granada, Spain. Mosques influenced other forms of art including painting, calligraphy, mosaic and painting. However, the development of musical art and instruments for the purpose of use in the mosques depict the overriding significance of Islamic art in the time travel studies of art history.

The Mosque of Istanbul constructed in 1230 B.

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