Ancient Egyptian Arts Ant Paleolithic Arts, Research Paper Example

Introduction

An art is an aesthetic object meant to be appreciated and looked at for its intrinsic properties. Artistic objects, therefore, have qualities that set them a part from the other objects. As such, artistic objects are cared for, and are always placed in safe places such as churches, caves or museums. By definition, aesthetics are those which concern the beautiful. Not all arts are beautiful to the eye, but are nonetheless smart. However, arts, like all philosophical matters, are subject to debate. For many years, aesthetics has developed into afield of psychology, a field which has had its fair share of disagreements. It, therefore, seems that we have been eluded by the absolute qualities of art, that we can not escape from viewing artworks in the context of circumstances and time, whether present or past.

The main aim of studying the history of arts is to determine the original circumstance of arts. Arts historians attempt to gat a full understanding not only why aesthetic events take place but also why these events have persisted in the history of humans. Arts history seeks to determine the unique circumstances that led to the creation of particular artworks or gave rise to certain artistic fashions during certain periods in history. Thus, the architecture and history of arts is indivisible from the study of history, although these two disciplines are different form one another. The following pages compare the Paleolithic arts with the ancient Egyptian arts. This composition will also explain some of the basic historical terminologies used in arts history.

The arts of the Paleolithic

Paleolithic is a term used to define the oldest period in the history of mankind. Subdivisions of the Paleolithic period include: the upper Paleolithic (Magdalenian, Gravettian, Solutrean, Aurignacian, Chatelperronian), Middle Paleolithic, the period of hand axe (Mousterian), and lower Paleolithic (Acheulian, Abbevillian, Clactonian, Oldwan).

The lower Paleolithic is the time between 4 million years ago when there is the record of the first human existence and 120,000 years when important technological and evolutionary changes welcomed the middle Paleolithic.

In Africa and Europe, the middle Paleolithic is the period around 40,000 and 120,000 years ago. This is the time when humans gained control of their surrounding and saw the emergence of modern day humans. Stone manufacturing transformed into sophisticated techniques for making tools which allowed for the creation of more consistent and controlled flakes (Murphy). Hunting was the primary source food but people began preserving food by smoking. Artistic manifestations came out for the first time with the used of ochres as body paints and some rocks arts begin to emerge. There was also evidence of earnest burials for the dead which indicates the beginning of rituals and religious behaviors.

The upper Paleolithic is the last subdivision of the stone ages. It dates between 8,500 years and 40,000 year ago. This period is characterized by the emergence of organized settlements. The technological developments included tool development based on fine blades instead of the initial cruder flakes. Artistic work blossomed during the upper Paleolithic with exotic raw materials and Venus figurines found far away from their suggested origin, suggesting the emergence of migration and trading links (Murphy, 13).

Paleolithic art created between 11,000 and 32,000 years ago can be divided into two major categories: portable pieces (decorated objects curved from stones, bones or clay molding) and cave art. Example of portable Paleolithic art include the Venus of Willendorf, ‘the lady in the hood’, Venus figures from the Stone Age and female Figuirines from the upper Paleolithic. Example of Paleolithic curved art includes Altarmia, Lascaux, Barnfield Pit, Baile Herculane, Krapina, Aurignac and Meindorf (Murphy, 17).

Ancient Egyptian arts

The ancient Egyptian arts are far different from the temples and pyramids of the pharaonic periods. The first inhabitants of the Nile valley had had started making engraved drawings as early as the 8^th millennium (Robbins, 202). In their drawings, they depicted their wild game, their own lives and hunting scenes. The predynastic period arts were made from curving from ivory and stone grade goods.

The dynastic period is characterized by a range of ceremonial artifacts; including Ivory handled knives, maces and palettes. These artifacts played an important role in the emerging social hierarchy and religious rituals. More elaborate palettes and mace heads, such as those used by Nermar and the king called scorpion were discovered in the temple of Hierakonpolis, however the archeological circumstance surrounding their discovery have been poorly documented(Simpson, 34).

Egyptian arts were mainly concerned about the people, the kings, the gods and the continuity of the universe. Egyptian arts therefore used arts to depict things as the idolized them and not just as they saw them. Egyptian arts were more enduring and significant than it was possible in the real world. Most ancient Egyptian artists attempted to blend the ideal with the real (Robbin, 113).

Egyptians mostly used the curving of soft stones to pass their message across. Most carvings were left visible for their symbolism although paints were sometimes used. For example, the black stones were used to symbolize new life or resurrection; brown and yellow stones were associated with the sun; and green stones symbolized new growing vegetation and new life.

After Egypt was ruled, for a brief time, by the Asiatics-who took control of a considerable proportion of the country, all the arts were maintained. The artistic work that survived during the rule of the Asiatics show that the new ruled simply made use of the existing artifacts and in some cases copied the reliefs and sculptures of the Egyptians in order to authenticate their claim to the throne.

After the expulsion of the rulers, Egyptian arts entered one of its most grand times, the New Kingdom. This period was characterized by variation in arts so that there were formal arts found in temples such as Luxor and Karnak, the private tombs of Deir el-Medina, and the tombs found in the valley of kings. The variations of art during this period were also as a result of the radical changes in religion, such as the Amarna period which caused arts styles to change dramatically.

Egyptian arts of the first millennium BC attested the ability to assimilate new possibilities while retaining its integrity and character. During the Late Period, Egyptians attempted to revive the classical arts of the Middle and Old kingdom which symbolize the lost sense of certainty and stability after Egypt was conquered by Alexander the Great. The nature of all Phraonic arts was designed to create a compromise between the Greek and Roman rulers, and that of the native Egyptians. Although this period has some of the largest existing religious buildings, the artistic relief began to be repetitive and mass produced. The art work for this period was also poorly executed and formulated. This period coincides with the absorption of new elements from the Mediterranean, such as the Fayoum mummy paintings.

Almost all three dimension artworks, whether kneeling, standing or seated, exhibited frontality. That is, even though they were sometimes striding, the faced straight ahead. This might have been criticized for rigidity, especially when not viewed from their original context. However, such artworks were not created as pure art, but to play a primary role as kings, cults, gods, and in some cases, the dead. They were carefully placed in places where the beings could clearly manifest themselves to receive ritual actions. Therefore, this made sense to make the statute looking straight foreword, so that the living could ‘directly’ interact with the deceased or divine recipients. Moreover, such important statues were usually enclosed in wall niches or rectangular shrines with a front opening, making it possible for the artwork to display frontality. Some statues were frequently positioned in pillared courts, where the statues were placed between pillars to perfectly bring out frontality.

Most ancient Egyptian statues were made from metal, wood or stone. Stone curving were made from rectangular blocks of stone. This could be deduced because the stone between the body and the arm, as well as between the legs in uptight figures, usually not cut off, but left to add strength to the sculpture. This artistic method also added the image of poor and strength being depicted. On the other hand, wooden sculptures were curved form several pieces of wood which were then joined together. Metal sculptures were either cast by in the lost wax process or made by wrapping pieces of metal on a wood.

Ancient Egyptians sought order in all their endeavors, and this was a fundamental part of their artwork. Figures were only paced randomly only when the concept of chaos was intended. Otherwise, all art works were set in a systematic order. Whether in a three dimension or two dimensions, Egyptian arts were accompanied by text. Short text were used to describe the actions depicted, while longer text comprised words spoken by the kings, hymns or request of offering to the dead. Typically, hieroglyphics in any scene formed part of the whole composition. And because the hieroglyphics texts were set as representational elements, artistic compositions would lack balance without them.

The medium within which the Egyptian arts were carried varied widely. The most used and the most easily obtained material was the limestone which could easily be obtained in the Nile valley. Other common soft medium included sandstone, calcite, greywacke and schist. Harder mediums included diorite, granite, basalt and quartzite. Stones were mostly used to make offering tables, stelae, liberation bowls and other ritual artifacts.

Definition of terms

Dynastic period: the period between 2920-2650 BC

Old Kingdom: the period between 2152-2650 BC

Middle Kingdom: the period between 1759 and 1986 BC

Venus of Willendorf: The most famous early image of a human, a woman, found in 1908 by the archaeologist Josef Szombathely in Danube River close to the Austrian town of Willendorf.

Conclusion

Arts are usually intended to connect and appeal with the human emotions. It can arouse moral or aesthetic feelings, and can be conceived as a means of communicating all or some of these feelings. Ancient Egyptian artists expressed things that to some extent aroused their audience, although the lacked the ability to do so consciously. Both the Paleolithic and ancient Egyptian arts explored what is popularly known as the human condition, which is basically what it is to be a human being. Ancient Egyptian arts were effective in bringing out the human condition during that period. The degree of skills of that the ancient Egyptians made it possible for them to be able to trigger emotional response form people many years after the arts were developed. Generally, Paleolithic arts were simpler compared to the ancient Egyptian arts, this is possible as a consequence of using simple tools. Overall, both the Paleolithic and ancient Egyptians arts were effective in bringing out the history of arts and the human condition during certain periods in history.

Works Cited

Murphy, Mark. Prehistoric art-Paleolithic.London: Harvard University Press, 2008

http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/prehistoric/paleolithic.htm. Accessed June 08, 2011

Robbins, Gay. The art of ancient Egypt. Harvard University Press, 2008.

Simpson, William. The art and architecture of ancient Egypt. Yale University Press, 1998