The Kneeling Figure of King Hatshepsut is an 8’6” portrait of the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. The sculpture is made out of red granite which is a “very hard natural igneous rock formation of visibly crystalline texture formed essentially of quartz and orthoclase or microcline and used especially for building and for monuments”. It is shown that King Hatshepsut is kneeling on the floor as she is offering of two spherical jars, one in each hand. The portrait consists of different elements that makes it very unique such as the composition, texture, line, space, shape and form of the sculpture. The composition of King Hatshepsut’s portrait is very similar in many ways to other Kings of Egypt. For example, you can identify …show more content…
This leads us to the structure of her body and how her body is depicted. As we know, King Hatshepsut is a female king who ruled during the eighteenth dynasty in Egypt. Though she was a female, she wears the regalia of a male. If you look at her chest she is depicted without female breasts. Since kingship was more known as a male office this could reason why the breast is not shown. Even though her portrait shows a lot of things a male king would be visualized as, her body is slightly different from male kings. The structure of her body is a lot smoother and feminine rather than the muscular young man body type that is depicted in many other portraits of other …show more content…
From the contour lines that make up King Hatshepsut’s arm from her armpit to her wrist you can see how the artist used very straight lines to show the feminine figure of the king instead of using curved lines on her arm to show muscles on her body. Also those same contour lines along her limbs show how static her form is. We could tell from this that as she kneels down while offering she is not making any movement at all. Other lines are represented in the portrait such as the unique designs on her headdress, fake beard, and her kilt. These lines are used merely to show design and even depth such as the beard and how rough the beard
These two statues are famous to the Egyptian art era. They represent the woman’s position and the man’s position at that day and age. Traditionally, the rulers of Egypt were male. So, when Hatshepsut, Dynasty 18, ca. 1473-1458 B.C., assumed the titles and functions of king she was portrayed in royal male costumes. Such representations were more for a political statement, rather than a reflection of the way she actually looked. In this sculpture, she sits upon a throne and wears the royal kilt and the striped nemes (NEM-iss) headdress with the uraeus (cobra) and is bare chested like a man. However, she does not wear the royal beard, and the proportions of her body are delicate and feminine.
Hatshepsut, declared herself king during the reign of her stepson and nephew, Thutmose III. She adopted the full titulary of a pharaoh, and since this was traditionally a man’s role, she wore the nemes-headcloth, the shendyt-kilt and a fake beard as part of the ceremonial attire of the Egyptian king. This is portrayed in her life-size statue “White Hatshepsut” at the MET.
The pharaoh named Khafre was an ancient Egyptian king of the 4th dynasty during the old kingdom. Khafre enthroned shows the pharaoh is shown in a seated potion on a throne with a look of deep serenity in his face. The king is sitting rigidly upright with one of his hands on his knee and the other one making a fist on his thigh. Khafre is also wearing a headdress as well as a strapped on beard. Khafres’ face and body are both idealized with the help of bilateral symmetry. Khafre is perfectly symmetrical on both sides; his pose is also both frontal and ridged. The Sculptor shows all movement, however, still showing eternal stillness (Kleiner, 2013). The statue of Khafre is an image of unbridled power. This work, life-sized and carved from diorite (an extremely hard and difficult-to-work stone) portrays the Pharaoh Khafre, sitting immobile. This piece of art uses the Egyptian canon of proportions, creating a very idealized figure (Kleiner,
Hatshepsut’s reign especially leaves much to the scholar’s speculation and interpretation since little evidence is left. The reader must acknowledge how an author’s views may be construed by sexism and other concepts prevalent in their time. What these five authors imply about Hatshepsut’s personality and attitude concerning her political ascent, her usage of propaganda, and her achievements during that time all differ from each other, some more drastically than others. This certainly shows that when one reads of history, their research should span as far as possible in order to most accurately inform themselves of what truly happened; it is from there that they can formulate the best
Hatshepsut was bold because while she was her nephew, Tuthmosis III’s regent, she gathered power and influence to unexpectedly name herself pharaoh. In paragraph eleven, it states, “Gradually, over seven years, her power and influence grew. In the end, Hatshepsut was ruling Egypt in all but name.” In addition to this quote, in paragraph twelve, it states, “...Hatshepsut took a bold and unprecedented step: She had herself crowned pharaoh with the large, heavy, red-and-white double crown of the two Egypts…” These quotes explain that Hatshepsut knew that her nephew was too young to be effective and used this to her advantage. Hatshepsut was also bold because she did not want to break the tradition of a male. Instead of dressing as a woman, Hatshepsut appeared as a man in public and took the name of Maatkare. In paragraph fourteen, it states, “She was concerned with preserving and continuing traditional order as much as possible, so to the people of Egypt she made herself look like a man in her role as pharaoh.” This quote supports that Hatshepsut was aware that she broke the men as pharaoh tradition, but wanted people to take her seriously and continued to dress as a man so it did not seem like she was a woman. Despite her dressing as a man, Hatshepsut continued her feminine delights. In paragraph sixteen, it states, “Hatshepsut might have had to look and act like a man in public, but she never gave up feminine pleasures.”
The Ancient Egyptian sculpture, “Statue of Nykara and His Family”, was sculpted during the late fifth dynasty. The sculpture is a depiction of Nykara, his wife, Nubkau, and son, Ankhma-Re. The statue is in poor condition with pieces of limestone missing and chips on the three subject’s faces and bodies. The painted limestone shows the conventional colors for the male and female subjects. There is a clear discoloration among Nykara and his son’s bodies. The brownish red color they once were has eroded to a light yellowish color, which resembles the purposeful color of Nykara’s wife. The hieroglyphs on Nykara’s seat insinuate that the sculpture is meant to be viewed from the front view. This is also evident by the way the three subjects are facing forward in frontal view. There are hieroglyphs on both the chair and base of the statue near Nykara’s wife and son’s feet.
Hatshepsut was born in 1508 B.C., daughter of Thutmose I. Thutmose I was the third king of the 18th century, son of a military man. He did not take to the throne as son of a former king, but due to unknown circumstances he rose to the throne. His reign ended in 1493B.C.. Thutmose I was succeeded by his son Thutmose II. After the death of Hatshepsut’s father at age twelve,
Hatshepsut’s posture of sitting down on the throne gives off great reverence. Her pose gives the idea of royalty and respect as she is sitting rather calmly but also straight up. Hatshepsut’s hands are laid flat on the top of her knees. Her position is very static and still. There is no urgency in her posture, seemingly peaceful and serene. However,...
The pieces of sculpture are both carved using the subtractive method of sculpting from stone. However, the types of stone used were very different. The sculpture of Mycerinus and Kha-merer-nebty II was carved from a stone called greywacke, a dark colored, very hard stone the Egyptians prized for sculpture despite the fact t...
An essential characteristic for being a great leader, consistent within many, is confidence. A person may have ideas, but for them to be carried out takes confidence in themselves to bring those ideas to reality. Hatshepsut portrayed herself as a very confident woman by taking the initiative to do things that only Pharaoh’s would commonly do, such as performing certain religious rituals, making offerings directly to the gods, and commissioning various building projects. These actions made it evident that she saw herself as important and powerful, and others soon believed this as well; she was considered as God’s wife of Amen and became a priestess in temple rituals. Hatshepsut also depicted herself as a male—she dressed in a kilt, crown, and wore an artificial beard. This clearly shows that she had great ambition to be King, as she took on the daring task of creating a false persona just so that she could reach her goal. Despite the typical male dominating society, Hatshepsut displayed confidence in herself that she could become ...
Was she the archetypal wicked stepmother, an unnatural and scheming woman ?of the most virile character who would deliberately abuse a position of trust to steal the throne from a defenceless child? (Gardiner, 1961:184)? Or was she ?an experienced and well-meaning woman who ruled amicably alongside her stepson, steering her country through twenty peaceful, prosperous years who deserves to be commemorated among the great monarchs of Egypt? (Budge, 1902:I)? According to biographer and historian Joyce Tyldesley, Queen or as she would prefer to be remembered, King Hatchepsut became the female embodiment of a male role, whose reign was a carefully balanced period of internal peace, foreign exploration and monument building (Tyldesley, 1996:1). This study will show that it was Hatshepsut the Pharaoh?s devotion to the god Amen and her protection of the maat of 18th Dynasty Egypt that allowed her to forge her successful New Kingdom regime.
Egyptian art is infamous across the world - classified by the monumental pyramids, and the Sphinx. Although these are both valid forms of Egyptian art, they do not make up the entire artistic history of the country. On the contrary, perhaps the most replicated example of classic Egyptian art, from the Old Kingdom, can be found in their rendering of the human form. An interest in portraiture developed early in Egypt. (Gardner, 75) Whether painted on pottery, or cut into rock, the figures all had notably Egyptian characteristics. "The seated statue is one of only a very small number of basic formulaic types employed by the sculptors of the Old Kingdom." (Gardner, 75)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ‘Egyptian Art’, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Art. New Series, Vol. 41, No. 3, Egyptian Art (Winter, 1983-1984): pp. 1+3-56
Lesko, Barbara, "Queen Khamerernebty II and Her Sculpture," in Ancient Egyptian and Mediterranean Studies, (Providence, Rhode Island, 1998), 158.
The painting was not very realistic. Napoleon is much larger then his horse. He was a very short man and only was about Five foot four inches tall. David did this on purpose to make him seem larger than life. Another unrealistic part of this painting was that he did not ride a horse he rode a mule. His point of doing that was to make him seem higher, like a king. Napoleons clothes were in great condition for completing such a hard task to d...