A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art by Melinda K. Hartwig

Author:Melinda K. Hartwig
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781118325087
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2014-11-17T00:00:00+00:00

The First Intermediate Period—Catching the Most Colorful Moments of Life

The First Intermediate Period and Middle Kingdom are considered basic stages in the elaboration of ideas that had lasting influence in the following epochs, despite the fact that up to now, their pictorial achievements have received relatively little attention by scholars. The tombs of Beni Hasan are the most striking example. Although they can be considered masterpieces of Egyptian painting and fundamental for the understanding of late First Intermediate Period and Middle Kingdom art, their knowledge is still mainly based on the publication by Newberry (1893a, 1893b). The most recent studies by Shedid (1994), Kamrin (1999), and Kanawati and Woods (2010), are either too general or too focused on particular aspects and only partially supplement the evaluation of their artistic importance.

This is mainly due to the fact that the most distinctive monuments of the First Intermediate Period and Middle Kingdom lay in areas out of easy reach. This was more true in the last decades of the twentieth century when, despite the renewed interest demonstrated by Egyptologists for studies on painting, fear of terrorist attacks made it difficult to visit Middle Egypt where most of these monuments are.

The breakdown of the state at the end of the Old Kingdom brought the use of painted relief to an almost complete stop. This situation not only depended on a lack of economic resources but also corresponded to a shift of preferences expressed by both patrons and artists. The importance attributed to color to the detriment of form became the artistic trend that characterized the end of the third and the beginning of the second millennia BCE. In comparison with Memphite art, that of subsequent epochs showed a lack of interest in order, proportions, and elegance. As this art made an earlier appearance in the regional provinces that came in existence following the collapse of the central power, the style has been often dismissed as “provincial.” This label corresponds to Russmann's (1995) “Second Style.” According to her, certain features on some Old Kingdom statues spread from Memphis to the other parts of Egypt between the end of Dynasty 5 and the beginning of Dynasty 6. One of those characteristics—the disproportionate eyes—is shared by almost all First Intermediate Period and, to a lesser extent, by Middle Kingdom painting. Taking into consideration another group of statues, Wildung (1999) reaffirmed the existence of a different style, but denied its Memphite origin. He proposed rather the surfacing of an Upper Egyptian tradition that was influenced by this region's proximity to Nubia (Wildung (1999), 344). Whatever the origin of this new artistic trend, it is already perceptible as early as Dynasties 5 and 6 in the contemporary tombs of Thebes (Unasankh, TT 413; Ihy, TT 186; and Khenti, TT 405; Saleh (1977), and Soliman (2009), 17–28) which are almost exclusively painted.

The increasing power of the provincial elite during the late Old Kingdom has been seen by Vischak (in press) as a reason for the greater freedom displayed by the

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