Rahotep And Nofret

4 Pages 876 Words

The Funerary Statues of Prince Rahotep and Nofret, His Wife
At the beginning of Old Kingdom Egypt, a rather rapid development of characteristics that defined “classical” Egyptian art took place. Later works would strictly adhere to these guidelines. In relief and painting, the human figure is represented with the head, pelvis, legs and feet sideways, or in profile. Much the opposite, the eye and shoulders are shown in front view. In early Egyptian art there was little or no attempt made to produce a photorealistic product. The Relief’s produced around this time period are very shallow and color is applied in flat hues. Another signature of early Egyptian art is the lack of linear perspective, or depth. These "rules" also carried over into the works of statuary produced contemporaneously with these wall paintings and reliefs.
In the realm of statuary, various standing and seated positions were adopted. The exacting frontality seen in earlier works resurfaces in statues produced in and around the same period. A hallmark of Old Kingdom works is the tendency to emphasize uniformity and to minimize the suggestion of motion. Notable Old Kingdom works of sculpture are: Chephren (Fig. 1), The Sheik-el-Beled , and the Seated Scribe (fig. 2). Because painting is not very permanent it was used very little as a medium of representation; it appears to have been used primarily in accenting of sculpture. An unusual example of painting in Old Kingdom Egypt is the Meidum geese (Fig. 3). This rather uncommon painting was found in the mastaba tomb of Nefermaat and Atet . Another work found close-by is an incredible pair of painted limestone funerary statues. This couple, represented as equals, is the prince Rahotep and his wife Nofret. Constructed by a masterful craftsman, at around 2630 BC, this couple has come to single-handedly represent Fourth Dynasty painted statuary.
As mentioned before, early dynastic works adhere to very precise formu...