The Art of Ancient Egypt: Revised Edition

_The Art of Ancient Egypt_ is, in a word, magnificent. In the foreward, Robins writes that her primary aim is to explore the reasons why art was so important to the ancient Egyptians. She succeeds brilliantly. There are over 300 images in the book - most of them color photographs - showing the stylistic changes in Egyptian art from the early dynastic period through the Ptolemies. While the vast majority of the art is for royality, in each period of Egyptian history Robins includes a close consideration of "non-royal monuments." And while art is the primary focus of the book, a good third of her attention is directed towards architecture as well. I cannot think of anything more that I would want or expect on the topic.With this ringing endorsement, a few details that Robins brought to my attention that I had never considered or realized. The first (and most significant) is that Egyptian art *does* change and evolve over time. Certainly there are consistent themes and forms in the art, the changes subtle and nuanced, but the joy (and interest) of studying this is finding and explaining these differences. For example, following the end of the Old Kingdom (2134 BCE), provincial rulers in Upper Egypt didn't have access to the skilled artisans in Memphis (the cultural center of ancient Egypt), and therefore had to use whatever local talent they had. As a result, Upper Egyptian art from the First Intermediate Period (2134 - 2040 BCE) has its own unique style: large eyes, a high, small back, and a lack of musculature in male figures. WIth the reunification of Egypt during the Middle Kingdom (2040 BCE - 1640 BCE), there is a deliberate return to Old Kingdom styles, a signal of political centralization and an underscoring of the connection between the 11th dynasty kings and the Old Kingdom 6th dynasty.Another detail that I had seen (but had been wholly unaware of) was the proportions the Egyptians used, and how the relationship of these proportions changed over time. For example, in the 12th dynasty (1991 - 1793 BCE), there were 18 "squares" between the sole of a figure's feet and the crown of the head. These proportions changed between the 13th and 17th dynasties (1793 - 1150 BCE) and again with the 18th dynasty (1550 - 1307 BCE) - most noticably during the reign of the "heretic king" Amunhotep IV / Alhenaten (when not only the proportions changed, but so too the number of sqaures increased to accomodate for the longer neck and face.)Robins' writing style is academic without being pretentious -the way in which she seamlessly synthesizes the broader themes of Egyptian society with the major historical events of ancient Egypt while connecting them to the trends and changes in art is another strength of the book. She does this so well, readers are likely not to notice; to pull this off seeminlgy so effortlessly is not easy, and is testament to her skill as a writer and her mastery of the subject.For those interested in art history, I imagine this would be a "must-have" text, as well as those with a strong interest (like me) in ancient Egypt. Highly recommended.

I visited Egypt and this art of Egypt brings back the memories of that trip. The explanations deepened my understanding of the lifestyle of the ancient Egyptians. So glad I purchased this book.

When I ordered this book I was a bit worried it won't be what I want. I was designing a project (Egyptian Style). I was so happy when it arrived. It has both the history facts & the brilliant photos. It is far more worth what I paid for.I love this book.

This book is a classic, plain and simple. Robins is the leading (living) expert on Egyptian art, and her introduction to it in this lavishly illustrated volume is the most up-to-date source out there. Other classics (for instance, William Stevenson Smith's volume) are perhaps more thorough, but they are also so old as to border on antiquated at this point.

This book covers Egyptian art period by period, from the Predynastic Period into the Old Kingdom, the Intermediate periods, the Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom. The text is easy to read, and the many pictures do a great job of showing you hundreds of examples of ancient Egyptian art. I was very, very impressed with the artistic achievements of this ancient land and found myself gazing at the pictures in downright amazement. Robins explains each period's artistic conventions and styles and discusses changes in those styles over time and across media, going into enough detail to let you know what is going on without becoming tedious. She talks about statues, tomb paintings, wall carvings, jewelry, coffins, furniture, and many other art forms within these pages and discusses the gods of ancient Egypt and their roles along the way to enlightening you as to what you're seeing.I am a beginner at ancient Egyptian art, and this book was geared toward me. It has simple, straightforward explanations and excellent captions for the images that tell you what you're looking at and its significance to the field of Egyptian art. I read the entire book but must admit I bought it for the pictures, which are full color and represent many types and styles of art objects. Nothing tells art history like pictures, which you can examine to your heart's content; the explanations can point out and explain relevant features, but you must take in these features with your own two eyes in order to absorb them properly. A must-have for the beginner in Egyptology who wants a firm foundation in the art history of one of the world's greatest civilizations!

The opening orientation guides the reader / student to the fundamentals of understanding ancient Egyptian "art." The photographs of paintings, statues, and walls stun with beauty and the descriptions are clarion.

Great book! Lots of illustrations to go with the information, so very helpful. Especially to a student!

This book was well written interesting and had great full color illustrations. It was interesting to find out that the Ancient Egyptians didn't have a word for art, in the same way we do today, rather it was an integral part of religious traditions.

Love, love this book! Such a great resource with so much information and beautiful pictures!

Excellent

Das Buch ist sehr empfehlenswert für Ägypten Interessierte und sehr hilfreich für Studenten der Ägyptologie, da es viele Abbildungen und informative Texte und Darstellungen enthält.

Good

was told to get this ifor university by my lecturers, is a very good book for student use, great book in its area,