Egyptian Style Rendering - Assignment Example

The creativity aspect of Egyptian art is evident in the variety of art created with some seemingly contradicting one another. However, with in art symbolism always plays a major role and it depends on how a particular piece of art is interpreted and the contradictions may be a way of concealing the deeper meanings. Figure 1 shows an example of an ancient Egyptian drawing of a god. An analysis of the drawing will bring out some key characteristics of Egyptian art. Figure 1 Essence of the Drawing An important aspect of ancient Egyptian art was to bridge the gap between mortals and the gods and to improve the understanding of the mortals of the gods.

The drawing in figure 1 shows an Egyptian god depicted by the fact that it has the head of an animal. According to Aloi, the use of animal heads did not essentially refer to physical animals but depicted spiritual animals that were considered to have godly statures (2012). For instance, the Egyptian god Anubis is always depicted as having the head of a jackal. The drawing in figure 1 was meant to educate Egyptians on religious belief and to instill in them a feeling of awe towards the gods. Despite the fact that the drawing has a human body, it is evident that the head is that one of a spiritual animal.

The use of animal heads was also important in drawing to create a distinction between mortals and gods. According to Aloi, the use of animal heads in ancient art had roots in the perception of human beings with regard to certain animals. Aloi continues to outline that different animals aroused different perceptions in different cultures and this is evident in how different cultures use animals differently in their respective works of art. However, one common aspect in the use of animals in art was that there was a deeper meaning of a feeling that the work of art intended to portray and arouse.

Therefore, the drawing was created to show all Egyptians that it was of a god and to consolidate the powers of the kings of Egypt especially immediately after the introduction of the kingship. According to Frankfort (1978), in the Egyptian Heirarchical system the Kings closely followed the gods and were even sometimes accorded godly statuses. Frankfort outlines that before the kingship period in Egypt the depiction of gods in works of art was not very common. However, after the introduction of the kingship Egyptians artists began showing interest in the depiction of gods.

The fact that the gods were supposed to be held in high esteem and awe also meant that the kings were to be given an almost similar position. The work of art was meant to ensure that kings immediately after the introduction of kingship were able to consolidate power against foreign and domestic opposition. This is depicted by the fact that Egyptians worshipped their kings and other neighboring communities were afraid of the Egyptian kings. The Value of the Drawing The depiction of a god in any drawing was always aimed at bringing out some important aspect of life after death in the Egyptian culture.

The gods assured Egyptians that there was in deed life after death and that they were not to be afraid of dying but rather look forward to it (Frankfort, 1978). Man has always been disturbed by what happens after one dies bringing into perspectives aspects such as religion, gods and reincarnation. The Egyptians were not exceptions considering that calamities