ESSAY #2b Completeness and Truth

PART I

ESSAY #2b

ESSAY TITLE: Completeness and Truth

QUESTION: How is it possible that what the Egyptians considered "completeness", could be misinterpreted as crude, naive or unrealistic and how does it affect the “truth” contained in their art? 

SUMMARY: Upon answering this question, I experienced a mild upset in organization. To begin with, I had so many thoughts and notes flying about. I was forced to sit down, sort my thoughts, agree or disagree on the topic and thoroughly explain my opinion.

REASON: What I believe the reason for asking this question is to understand why people make art. The reason may be different than my own and I needed to understand that there is more than one point of view on this subject.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this question ties into the reason I was asked it. It forced me to keep an open mind while at the same time, study and research the reasons why I should.

DIRECTION: Throughout the course of answering this question, I buried myself into the course text and took advantage of web tools. I generally kept the same opinion I had upon first reading the question but my knowledge on the subject grew tremendously.

IMPRESSIONS: While most people know of The Great Sphinx, I don’t think many know who it was built for and why it is of half man and half lion. I now have more insight as to what the Egyptians were thinking when this was erected. Not only that but, as silly as it seems, I know more than just the names of people like Nefertiti and Akhenaten. I now know who they were.

PART II

ANSWER:

            When considering the definition of “completeness” and “truth”, there is one explanation: these words are open to interpretation. What the Egyptians considered to be complete may be something that you or I do not. When looking at ancient Egyptian art over a  2,500 year span, I noticed a distinct  distortion of limbs and features of figures, which upon first glace, I said to myself “did these people have no concept of proportion and reality?” Delving even further, I saw examples of perfectly realistic carvings and statues, which made me wonder. Which pieces of Egyptian art display what they actually considered accurate? It Turns out, in their eyes, both were.

            The first clue that really got me thinking was one of the first pieces I had even read on the subject. “The Greek Historian Herodotus thought the Egyptians were the most religious people he had ever encountered” (Art History, Fourth Edition Vol. I, Marilyn Stokstad, Pg. 50) What does this have to do with their art? Upon further investigation I learned that the ancient Egyptians led a very fruitful life centered around their religion. These people believed in keeping a certain balance in harmony with the gods. Death was feared only by ones who did not abide by this balance and their art became an extension of this way of thinking. Egyptian artistic style was passed down from generation to generation with little room for change. This was specifically to keep the order and therefor, not upset the balance, harmony and way of life.

            “The Narmer Palette”  is an prime example of exactly where the Egyptians placed their priorities. Dating from the Early Dynastic period, the palette is a representation of the unification of upper and lower Egypt under King Narmer’s rule. Narmer is displayed as a larger than life man surrounded by smaller enemies of lower Egypt. The focal point of this piece is the depiction of his defeat over a man of comparable size, his hand holding the head of his enemy and ready to strike with the other. The Egyptians used exaggeration and distortion as a way to highlight the most important or impressive parts of their history. Narmer, being a king, was at the head of the table, so to speak. He was now to be remembered in this life as a brave successor. In the afterlife, his “ka”, or soul, would continue being the great man he was depicted as.

Source: http://www.ancient-egypt.org/index.html 

("The Narmer Palette" Green schist, Hierakonpolis. Early Dynastic Period, c. 2950 BCE.) 

            Another example, The Great Sphinx of the Funerary Complex of Khafre “combines his head with the long body of a crouching lion seemingly merging notions of human intelligence with animal strength” (Art History, Fourth Edition Vol. I, Marilyn Stokstad, Pg. 58). This is said to be one of the most impressive of all Egyptian art. It’s sheer size alone suggests a central figure in history who is to be be remembered as someone of great power, intelligence and regalia. This statue of Egyptians’ “truth”, though possibly interpreted as naive, was just a representation of what they saw in Khafre: a noble and strong king.

Source: http://www.greatstatues.com/tag/the-great-sphinx-of-egypt/

("The Great Sphinx" Sandstone, Giza. Old Kingdom c. 2520-2494 BCE.)

            Aside from Egyptian Kings, pieces of art have also shown persons of lower status. “Seated Scribe” (Art History, Fourth Edition Vol. I, Marilyn Stokstad, Pg. 60) of the Fifth Dynasty shows a man in a much more lifelike condition. His line of work has made him overweight. His skin droops from lack of exercise. His eyes are focused as they may have been while he was alive . Even lower in class, statues had been carved of servants. “The Butcher” (Art History, Fourth Edition Vol. I, Marilyn Stokstad, Pg. 60) displays a man hunched over, in good physical condition,  performing his daily duty which was, in this case, the slaughter of an ox. These types of art were erected much smaller than those depicting a king or someone of higher class. They were solely made to be buried with those of more importance so that as they descent into the afterlife, the person would have everything that they needed when they got there. This provided the buried with “completeness”.

Source: http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/seated-scribe.html 

("Seated Scribe")

            As years went on, artist style began to budge just a little bit. While past representations portrayed important figures in symbolic or physically fantastic form, by the time of the Twelfth Dynasty arrived, focus was placed more on exaggerating facial features as opposed to symbolic ones seen in pieces like The Great Sphinx.  In the “Colossal Figure of Akhenaten” (Art History, Fourth Edition Vol. I, Marilyn Stokstad, Pg. 70),  facial features stand out. His lips are almost bulbous. His eyes are slanted and quite large. The bones of his torso jut out. His large facial features and expression suggest a man of great confidence. While the visuals of Egyptian art have changed, the message is just the same: Remember this person of importance, let him continue to be complete in his afterlife and most importantly, keep the balance.

Source: http://www.heptune.com/art.html

("Colossal Figure of Akhenaten" Sandstone with traces of polychromy,  Eighteenth Dynasty)

            Ironically enough, Akhenaten became someone the Egyptians after him wanted to forget. His new religion was one they wanted to erase and therefor, all traces of Akhenaten were attempted to be destroyed.  Just like packing away a box of memories of your ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, the people who came after Akhenaten packed him away by turning his art and buildings to rubble. The backlash against his religion led to the destruction of his palaces and temples. Work began on dismantling Akhenaten very soon after abandonment and it’s stone re-used by later Pharaohs.( http://www.akhet.co.uk/akhstory.htm) Now that this had occurred, the Egyptians new “truth” was that Akhenaten never even existed. He had been erased. This brought them back to their much needed balance.

           These displays of art are only pieces of Egyptian “completeness”. Their strong focus on religion maintained their ongoing point of view of what they saw as “truth”. People who may not know the history behind some of these pieces of artwork may take a first look and perhaps giggle at the way Nermer’s chin juts out too far or how Akhenaten’s right arm looks more like a piece of armor than a limb. To them, this is unrealistic, even crude. To the ancient Egyptians, their works put the best of people on display for their gods and for Egyptian people to follow.